Picking up a bit of the context, 1 Peter chapter four, verse number five. Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead? For this cause was the gospel preached also unto them that are now dead, that they might be judged according to man in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. We ask Heavenly Father for your direction as we consider this small portion of your word. We pray that we might be responsible Christians, that we might ever look into the face of our Savior, that despite the things going on around us, we may be focused on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of the Father. We pray, Father, for the return of our Redeemer. It would delight us if He should come for us tonight. Bless these thoughts, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. I could just about guess the answer to this question, but When was the last time you heard or you said, well, these are the last days? Maybe it was something like this. We shouldn't be too surprised at the new laws the government is passing. We shouldn't be too surprised at the wickedness of the world today. We shouldn't be surprised when we hear, like last Monday, oh, there's been another shooting at a school. After all, these are the last days. We're supposed to expect this sort of thing in the last days. Those statements are justified because there is reason to believe that we are on the brink of the tribulation, when God will bring His creation to ruin, that it might be humbled before His face. The Lord will come for His saints very soon. after which I believe the Holy Spirit will withdraw his restraining hand and all kinds of wickedness will flood this earth as it did in the days of Noah. This time the world will be baptized in blood, so to speak, and once again there will be no redemption in that kind of baptism. While we hear references to the last days more and more often among the people of God, it needs to be remembered that this isn't any new thing. This has been said for a very long time. People have been saying it since the days of the New Testament. Whatever it meant whatever he meant by it. Peter said, the end of all things is at hand. It's right here beside us. James said, be also patient. Establish your hearts. For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. James 5, 8. Paul said, let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. He's nearby. Philippians chapter 4 verse number 5. Hebrews 10 25 reminds us of the day of the Lord approaching very quickly. John said little children it is the last time. First John 2 verse number 18. We could multiply these scriptures By several factors, we are in the last days. But there's a sense in which we have been in these last days since the days of the apostles. Nevertheless, you might say very ungrammatically, we are in the lastest of the last days. What are some of the characteristics of the last days? Peter, excuse me, Paul told Timothy, evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3.13. It might be argued that this is more true today than it has ever been in human history. Deception. Those seducers are found in every branch of society. Don't have to point to Washington to see them all. We have them in politics. We have them in education. We have them in science, so-called. And we have them in religion. People are being deceived on a regular basis by those who we should be able to trust. But there is very little trust anymore. There's very little Reason to trust, can I put it that way? Peter wrote that in the last days we would be overrun with scoffers. 2 Peter 3.3, has there ever been a period of time in human history when more people contemptuously laughed at Bible Christianity? It's rampant. Paul warned of people departing from the faith in the last days. And we have preachers doing that. I get reports all the time of pastors or ministers in various denominations that used to believe these sound doctrines and now they're heretics and they're still in the pulpit. Paul said, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. You can know, you can be assured, he says, that perilous times shall come. James Strong, in his Concordance, says perilous means hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous. Dangerous times shall come. Fierce. These are all his definitions. And at the end of his definition, he even adds, savage days shall come. This know also that in the last days, savage times shall come. I don't think we should be in terror of it. I don't think we should worry about it. But we hear quite regularly of sinfully insane people walking into church buildings and gunning people down as those folk are trying to worship the Lord. It happens. These are indeed perilous, fierce, savage days. As Peter says, the Lord is at hand, the Lord is near, here he comes. Peter puts it this way, the end of all things is at hand. Now we might jump to conclusions, but notice that he doesn't really define the end or the all things. Doesn't it speak about the logical conclusion of things? The end of things is the conclusion of things, logically speaking. The Greek word is translated end, uttermost, and finally. Then there is a strange translation that comes up three times in two verses. Romans 13 says, 13.7, render therefore to all their dues, custom to whom custom, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Where am I going? The Lord Jesus once asked Peter, of whom it was that the kings demanded custom. Matthew 16, 25. Even when translated custom, we can see that the logical conclusion of being king is to expect certain things. The logical conclusion of time creates certain things. The Lord's plan is coming to an end. What is it that will be reaching its conclusion? Tell us, Peter, what is it? He doesn't. He says that the end of all things is nearby, is at hand. Does this mean all things as in everything? Or does it mean all things as in the context that I've just shared with you? Or is there some other sort of limitation? Peter has just spoken about the attacks that Christians endure during their lives on earth. These shall come to an end. The end of all things is at hand. And he refers to the judgment that the lost will have to face because their sins are going to come to an end here soon as they stand before the savior, judge. Doesn't he also mention that the gospel has been preached and the multitudes are now dead and it's being preached now to multitudes that are still living? This is coming to an end. The end of all things is at hand. Then he says that Christ is coming again to judge the quick and the dead. Are there more things, Peter, that this might apply to? Generally speaking, time. as we understand it, is nearing its conclusion. There will be a new kind of calendar one of these days when we are with the Lord. Days and years and even hours will no longer be governed by such things as the rising of the sun and the setting of the sun and the rotation of the earth and the revolving of the moon, et cetera, et cetera. Everything will be revolving around the Savior. It'll be a different kind of calendar, a different kind of clock in those days. Time as we know it shall come to an end. I think we might say that everything that isn't eternal will come to an end. Think about it. Sin will come to an end. It's not eternal. Our earthly lives, as we understand them, will come to an end. But the eternal God will not come to an end. The decrees of God will never come to an end. The covenants of God will never come to an end. They are not coming to an end ever. And our souls, which were, are created eternally, or eternal, shall never come to an end. So for the lost person, his judgment will never come to an end. And for the child of God, the blessings of the Lord upon us will never come to an end. We shall never come to an end. Our souls are eternal. And those who have been made righteous through the grace of God can expect the Lord's blessings forever. And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with others in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4 17. Nothing which wasn't created by God to be eternal will end, will be brought to an eternal conclusion. Therefore, we shouldn't put much stress, concern, worry, consideration on those things which are not eternal anyway. They're going to come to an end. We need to set our affection on things above, on the internal things. The end of all things is at hand. Peter doesn't give us any more information. We can just let our imaginations roll for a while, but I'm going to stop with that. What does Peter draw from this idea that all things, the end of all things is at hand? Be you therefore sober and watch unto prayer. He goes on, and we shall go on in a lesson down the road somewhere, but our Bibles put a full stop at the end of verse number seven. It is a sentence. What sort of lives should we live in the light of this soon end of all things? We'll just stop with verse number seven. Peter gives some divinely inspired suggestions. There's a lot that he doesn't say, but he gives us some things. In this and in the next few verses, there's nothing said, for example, what should we do in the light of the second coming or the end of all things? Live in fear? Definitely not. Even in the midst of perilous times, we have nothing really to fear because we know All things work together for good. To them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. What should we do in the light of this quick end to things? Put our tools down? Sell our property? Go to the top of Signal Mountain over here and wait for the rapture? Don't be foolish, no. Dust ourselves off, sit on our hands, wait for the end. In this verse, and a few yet to come, Peter tells us how to spend our few remaining days before the end comes. In the midst of many things that I would like to say, I'm going to try to confine myself to Peter's thoughts here. I'd like to say we must spend our few remaining days glorifying Lord. I think that's a biblical thought, but that's not what Peter says right here. I think we should spend as much of our time as possible in spreading the gospel. Certainly not a non-biblical principle. That's not what he says. Peter tells us to be sober. To be sober. This does not specifically refer to the opposite of drunkenness, although it can be applied that way. We've just been reminded that in those days before our conversion, you remember those days, we walked in lasciviousness, lust of the flesh, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings. We walked in drunkenness to sin. And now he's saying, you're not like that anymore. Be sober. We might accurately say that we were intoxicated prior to our salvation. And I'm not referring to beer and marijuana. Just sin. We were drunkards with sin. And we enjoyed it. We partied in it. But now we're children of God, and we need to live soberly, throwing off that previous inebriation. To be sober is the opposite of lasciviousness, wantedness. Be sober. Literally, this Greek word sober means to have a sound mind. You remember the demoniac of Gadara that Brother Fulton so vividly gave to us in a lesson some time ago? After the Lord healed that man, Many from his hometown, just down the hill or around the corner, up the hill, wherever it was, came to visit him. They went out to see what was done. And they came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed. And there he was, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. That is the word sober that Peter uses right here. They saw that man and they were afraid. Luke chapter 8 verse 35. So Peter uses the same word that Luke uses in the description of that man. What those people found was a sober-minded Christian who was once thoroughly inebriated by demonism. but now he's in his right mind. That is where we are supposed to be. That is what is supposed to describe the Christian. However, I see so many who claim to be children of God getting all bent out of shape mentally and emotionally over basically inconsequential things. Be sober, Peter says. Here's the first thing he tells us. Be right-minded, because the Lord has healed you. You need not be under the influence of the demons of our day. You don't need to be in fear of what the government might do, or what the next virus might do, or what's gonna happen in the next election. You don't need to fear the return of Satan and his demons. You shouldn't be chasing rabbits either. You shouldn't be chasing conspiracies. The rabbits go into the briar patches and the conspiracies go under the rocks. You don't need to be there. Focus on the Savior. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, Meditate on these things. Think about these things. Fill yourselves with these things. Philippians 4, 8. This sort of thought life will enhance your sober and right mind. Give that right mind, give that sober mind good food to feast on. This sort of sobriety and right-mindedness will provide a testimony, the right kind of testimony to our neighbors. They don't need to see us running around like chickens with their heads cut off because of some recent disaster. The Lord healed this man in Gadara. He was in his right mind. Sure, the neighbors were upset. But they're upset for the right reasons, shall we say. Peter's second exhortation in regard to the soon to arrive end of all things is essentially crank up your prayer life. And to have strength in prayer, we must strengthen our fellowship with the Lord. Prayer is not about a list of requests, prayers about fellowship with the Lord and sharing with him what are really burdens on our hearts. There's an interesting use of words in this verse, which is covered up by our English, our English language. The word sober, the first one there, is Sophron-eo. It's translated sober four times. It's translated of sound mind twice. So I've already explained that. And then to that, Peter adds watch unto prayer. The word watch is neoph. And it too is translated sober as well as watch. So we could say, Be sober and sober unto prayer. And it would be an accurate translation. But the second word is more, rather than sound mind, it is to be calm. To be collected in spirit, to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect. In your prayer life, be calm. When God's people are close to the Lord as they should be or ought to be, there will be a calm in the soul. When that Christian comes into the throne room of the Lord in prayer, it should not be with a frantic or frenetic spirit bouncing all over the place. Earnestness is one thing, but since the world doesn't revolve around us, Why can't we just submit ourselves to the Lord and follow His leadership, His eye? If you'd like to take the interpretation this way, watch unto prayer, then we could, if you like, look for things about which to pray. I've already showed you my prayer list. This is my short list. And there are often things when I go to prayer in the morning that are just not on there. People, for example. Circumstances and situations. Some of them are far away. We need to learn just to be open and let the Lord direct us, even in this matter of worship and prayer. Pray for the Lord's glory. Because the end of all things is at hand. Pray for the protection of your friends from their enemies, your enemies, local criminals, even kings and princes, I suppose. But we know that the Lord can turn the heart of those kings. They're in his hand. Consideration of the end of all things should make us look at the world in a sober fashion, not the opposite. We should be rational. And that includes aspects of the temporal world which we hold dear to our hearts. This is not as important as we may think it is. What's important is our relationship with the Lord. Come unto him and bring your requests. While we loosen our grasp on physical and while we relinquish our mental grasp on the world, we need to draw closer to the Lord. I think that's what Peter is saying here. The end of all things is at hand. So calm yourself, draw nigh unto God, and He'll make the devil flee from you and he will draw nigh to you. The end of all things is at hand. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. From there, he goes on to several other things, some of which we may look at on Sunday.