Stewards of Grace
Steve Jobs, Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. Computers, chairman and guru behind Pixar – he died of pancreatic cancer in 2011.
Year after his diagnosis, gave commencement speech at Stanford Uni…
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent.
He talked openly about how his attitude on things changed when he began to consider the possibility of the end.
That’s what Peter’s does in our text today 1 Peter 4:7-11.
It says, living with the end in mind should change the way we live today.
God wants to change the way we live.
1 Peter 4:7–11 (NLT) 7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
When people know the end is near [same word used in James 5:8 re the Second Coming of Jesus James – 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near] they live differently…
Therefore…
Be earnest and disciplined in prayer [“to be calm and collected in spirit.”]
[Most important] continue to show deep love [charity – cf John 3:16] for each other [love covers a multitude of sins – appears in the Hebrew text of Prov. 10:12b] It is the act of one who, instead of living a self-centered life, gives of themselves to others. Wuest
Hospitality – Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay – translation of a Greek word meaning literally “friendly to strangers.” (cf persecution of Christians)
Use your spiritual gifts (charisma) to serve one another – lit faithfully administering – as stewards – “one who governs a household.”
A “steward” was one who served as a house manager; they had no wealth of their own, but distributed their master’s wealth according to their master’s will and direction. Raymer
Bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.
This series will give us a biblically-grounded framework that challenges and encourages us as believers to align our calling and lives on kingdom outcomes that bring glory to God.
Biblically grounded (cultural, historical, ancestral)
Challenges and encourages
Kingdom alignment (seek first the Kingdom of God)
Glory to God: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” The Westminster Shorter Catechism
A fundamental way we glorify God is in our being stewards of His grace.
vs 10 … as good stewards of God’s grace
- the nature of stewardship – trad think time talents tithe
No the treasurer hasn’t started wearing sackcloth and ashes. No, we’re not putting parking meters have been installed in the church car park.
- the scope of stewardship
- Stewards of His grace
- Stewards of His creation
- Stewards of His gifts
- Stewards of His stuff