Prayer, love and hospitality
“7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:7-9; ESV)
Verse 7: Tend prayer like a campfire
- Flash fires start up in a moment and die down just the same
- When the fuel is gone so is the flame
- Prayer can be like this…especially when prayer is the cry of crisis
- Crisis should not be the fuel of prayer
- Flash fires and flash prayers are not the mark of maturity
- Prayer is to be steady and robust
- Prayer is like a campfire needing tended and fed
- Lack of attention to it will result in diminished flames and warmth. Its purpose falters.
- Prayer is easily dimmed or extinguished by fantasy and faulty thinking
- So Peter urges attention to thoughts and actions so that it will not suffer
- In prayer one connects to God learning his will and gaining insight into one’s situations.
- One must control the passions, the sensuality, the drunkenness, ungodliness. Peter mentioned these in verse 3 1
- Without control on these things one’s prayers probably won’t even happen. If they do happen they will be hindered.
- Jesus told Nicodemus 2 that those whose deeds are dark will not come into the light.
- A person who is living an ungodly style will not come into the light.
- The vitality of real connection between God and people in prayer is thwarted by the static of sin.
- This is not just something faced by unbelievers.
- Remember that Christians sin. See also 1 Peter 2:1.
- We must remember that the desires we carry around with us are often things that need to be fought against.
Verse 8: Cover sins … with love
- Be fervent, be earnest, be faithful in loving other people
- Try to learn what they need and if it is in your power to provide it do so.
- Keep loving. Don’t quit.
- There is no sufficiency in love, it must always abound more and more.
- While can spend enough time in sin and rebellion (verse 3)3 it is not possible to love enough.
- The graces of God are to be the graces of men
- Think of Peter asking how many times he needed to forgive another.
- Peter felt generosity expired at 7
- Jesus went so far beyond 7 as to make it an always type thing.
- Why keep loving?
- It covers a multitude of sins
- It must be good to cover sins for that is why Peter says loving others is paramount
- Love obscures sin
- Proverbs 14:34 4 says that sin is a reproach (disgrace; 1984 NIV) to any people.
- Disgrace is something that should be covered, hidden, removed if possible
- Love does that
- In the lesson on 1 Peter 3:9 5we were taught to address evil with good.
- God did that in an ultimate sense at the crucifixion
- We are to do this to the best of our ability
- It is a lot easier to share sins
- Don’t share sins, sink them.
- Don’t announce sins, alleviate them.
- The best scriptural example of this can be seen in the story of Noah
- Noah’s nakedness was covered by Shem and Japheth
- The disgrace was announced by one son
- The disgrace was covered by two other sons.
- Do we want to cover sins?
- We probably do to the extent that is embarrassing.
- What about the juicy details of those you don’t know?
- This week I met an inmate who was polite and for all intents and purposes was just like the people I see who are not incarcerated.
- “Hmm…” I thought, “what did he do?”
- “Really?” “Wow!”
- The pictures of him before prison were even good.
- Now you want to know.
- His sin a disgrace, though.6
- His sin not so unusual in some sense.
- What is happening in the mind with this? “Enquiring minds want to know”
- It is juicy in some manner
- But it is not useful
- It is better to cover it.
Verse 9: Make yourself at home!
- Hospitality + grumbling
- “Oh great, he will eat all the bacon bits.”
- “They took so much spaghetti sauce all I got was noodles.”
- “He ate all the sausage off the top of the casserole!”
- The old favorite: “He ate all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms”
- “I sure hope she helps pay for the gas.”
- “When she comes over to pick up her son she will talk forever.”
- “I want her to pay the rent bill, but man she will tell us everything about her life.”
- “Every time they come over something ends up broken.”
- “Oh no! I have heard this stupid story so many times.”
- Hospitality is good, but don’t fuss about it.
- Do everything, Paul says, without complaining and arguing.
- Remember the Israelites grumbling in the desert?
- God loves a cheerful giver.
- What if a certain person in a community abuses hospitality of others? What is your response to be?
- Talk about them with everyone?
- Most will fuss about them.
- Don’t engage it.
- Cover it…on purpose.
- My wife is hospitable.
- I have to work at it and I am prone to grumbling. I usually grumble on the inside though.
- If at some point we falter so be it.
- Do right and let the attitude catch up later.
Key concepts for these verses:
- Prayer must not be quick on, quick off
- Sin will short circuit prayer
- Don’t forget that Christians still struggle with sin: Struggle on!
- Sin is a disgrace
- Make every effort to bring love to cover sins.
- Be a cheerful giver.
- Happy hospitality
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