1 Peter 4:8-11(NKJV) 8And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 9Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
As we close this week, I want to look at one more section of 1 Peter 4 and another necessary dimension of our Christian lifestyle. It is yet another thing we must have in place if we are going to occupy. We have discussed the necessity to develop an attitude of self-sacrifice. Jesus suffered in the flesh for us and we must cultivate the same willingness to suffer in the flesh for him. This does not mean that we have to suffer the things Jesus died to free us from. He paid for our sickness, poverty and emotional distress. Those are the kinds of things we can believe God to overcome. However, we must be willing to set aside the desires and comforts of the flesh in order to walk free from sin and preach the Gospel of Jesus.
We have wasted enough time living for the flesh and now must live for the will of God. People will not understand our lifestyle choices, but we do not give account to them. We will be judged for how we live and they will be judged for how they respond to the Gospel.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he became the God of this world. He sent us as his representatives to exert his authority over the world and to extend his Kingdom by winning the lost. We must recognize that the end of all things is at hand. It is time to be sober and watchful. Our world needs the church to be the church in these troubling times. We need to occupy.
Today I want to focus on something that is at the heart of what it really takes to occupy. In these verses, Peter tells us what the most important determiner of our lifestyle must be. Above all, we must have fervent love for one another. Without this fervent love, we will never occupy our land of promises.
Hate, greed and selfishness are at the heart of the devil’s kingdom. When he was cast out of heaven, these qualities became his nature. He does not just do evil he is evil. The Kingdom of God is the exact opposite. The bible tells us God is love. He does not have love; he does not just feel love. God is love. Since this is the case, love is at the heart of his Kingdom.
Without love, we have no connection to the power of God. Galatians 5:6 tells us faith works through love. Where there is no love there can be no faith. Where there is no faith the power of God cannot flow. Where the power of God does not flow there can be no occupation.
There are many things we need to practice to have an occupying lifestyle; however, most important is that we walk in love. Although we must certainly love those who are still unsaved, Peter tells us that it must begin with loving one another.
Peter gives us some practical aspects of our love walk towards one another. First, he tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. What does that mean? I can tell you that it does not mean that God will look the other way if we love each other. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) We must always interpret the bible with the bible. If we sin, we open the door to death. That is a principle that God will not ignore. What “sins” does love cover?
Love will cover the sins we commit against each other. I am not talking about stealing or adultery. God will certainly judge things of this nature and we must hold people accountable for such things. However, the everyday offenses that any group of people will commit against each other are another matter. If we truly love one another, we will not keep account of such things. (1 Cor. 13) We will hold our relationship as more important than a wrong word or a wrong action. Even when we are hurt, we will choose to “suffer in the flesh” rather than break relationship with our brother or sister. If we do not cultivate this kind of love, the devil will keep us divided. We are all imperfect and subject to doing things that can hurt others. This has been the story of the Body of Christ throughout history. However, if we can choose to let love cover these kinds of offenses, we can defeat the devil and occupy.
Peter continues by encouraging us to be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Due to a flood, my daughter’s home was condemned for a damaged foundation. They had to have the foundation rebuilt before they could move back in. I do not have a large house, but there was never any question as to where they would stay until their house was ready. My daughter, her husband and their four children moved in with us. They are family and that was the end of it.
It was quite an adventure having four children 5 and under in our home. We were a very crowded but generally happy group. We did not grumble or complain. We did not look at it as a hardship. It was a time of fellowship with family. What was ours was theirs. They helped with expenses and housework. When it came time for them to move back home we were all happy, but my wife and I were a little sad to see them go. Where family is concerned, our home is always open.
That is the kind of picture Peter is painting here. The church is a family. We must learn that all we have must be available to meet the needs of the family. In the book of Acts, it says that the early church did not consider anything as their own but held all things in common. This is sometimes misunderstood as some kind of communal society. It was not. It was an attitude. If one had something and another was in need, they met the need. It was not questioned or thought about. What I have belongs to my family as well. We should view the church in the same way.
Finally, he tells us how this love should be expressed in our ministry to one another. If we are going to speak we must speak in love. How can we be sure that our words are motivated by the love of God? We must speak as “oracles of God.” What does that mean? It means we should say what God is saying. It means we should ask ourselves before we speak, “What would Jesus say in this situation?” We must let our words to each other be governed by the love of God. Words that do not flow from love do not flow from God. They may be hard words. They may be corrective words. They may even be words of discipline, but they must be words of love.
If we minister, we must minister from the ability that God supplies. We do not just minister to one another with our flesh. We may be ministering natural things to people, but we should always believe for the touch of God on what we do. That touch is called the anointing or enabling ability. If we try to minister in our own strength two things will happen. We will run out of strength and we will be able to claim the credit. If we trust God for the ability to minister to others we will never run out of what we need to help. We will not become weary in well doing. We will meet the needs of others fully and joyfully.
The result is that God will be glorified. That is what must happen if we are going to occupy. We do not occupy our land of promises for our good alone. We occupy so that the Lord can reign in the earth. As you go to church this weekend remember this; above all let love for your brothers and sisters dictate how you act and how you react. If you do, you will be a part of the glorious church that occupies until Jesus comes.
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