This reading is found in 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 7 through 11. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belongs glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Week number one, we looked at what God intends for us when we gather together. We said we speak to God as we read psalms and hymns and sing out of our heart. We hear from God as his word is proclaimed, as we sing songs. And then lastly, we impart God's grace to each other. Week number two, Last week we talked about what God intends to happen in the church and where's the conclusion we came to. God wants to reflect His glory through us and also accomplish His purposes. Today we want to talk about what it means to care for one another. This is a major theme in the New Testament woven throughout all of God's Word. And today's passage speaks clearly to this. So I want you to hear it again real quickly. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray, shall we? Our Father, the Bible says, because the end of all things is at hand, these are the things that we're supposed to do. Father, we live between your two comings. You came into the world as a baby, and you became a man, and you ministered to us, Father, through your son as he was here. And eventually, he went to the cross and died. He was buried and he rose victoriously from the grave so we could be made free, so we could be forgiven of our sin. The blood of Jesus, our Father, atoned for our problem. Then the Bible tells us that he ascended into heaven. And even now, the Lord Jesus sets at your right hand, interceding on our behalf. completely and entirely involved in our everyday lives. But Father, one day he's coming back again. And we look around us and we think, hey, that could be soon. But here in this passage of scripture, Father, you give us instructions for what you want us to be doing while we wait your return. So Father, we ask that you would lead us and guide us and direct us and that your word would speak to us. And Father, that we would go away from here being doers of the word and not hearers only. And so, Father, for our good and for your glory, speak to us today, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, at the risk of being obvious, what do we want to do here at New Covenant Church? Well, we want others to hear the gospel, right? There's only one way we can come to God, and that's through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the gospel of grace is what? Jesus did it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left the crimson stain, He washed me white as snow. What do we bring to the table when we come to Christ? We bring nothing but our sin, and then Jesus does it all. What else? Well, we want believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Around here, we say we want to move people to the right. We want us to change and grow and become the very image of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that until we die or the Lord returns, we're never going to be perfect like Him. But we're happy in the struggle because we know eventually a day is coming when everything will be the way it's supposed to be. But then thirdly, we want to happen here at New Covenant Church what happened in the early church when people were being saved and baptized and joining the church and the gospel was going throughout the whole nations. So the question then is, is where do we do what today's text teaches? And the answer is through the one another passages. Now if you have some time during the week, stop there in your Bible and just look at all the different one another passages that God speaks to us. We're going to look at a few of them today, but obviously not all of them. But listen, This is a very personal, biblical fellowship that we're talking about here. And what makes it a biblical fellowship is what we are sharing in. So if you have your Bibles, turn with me, if you would, to the book of 1 John, chapter 1. Just a few more pages back, if you've got your Bibles open. But listen to these words that were already read to us this morning, 1 John 1, 1 through 4, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. And why the word, word of life? Because in Christ we see what life is supposed to be. This life was manifested and we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be good. So what is God saying? We now have fellowship with the Father and with His Son, but also with one another. Fellowship means sharing something together. And what makes it biblical fellowship is, is what we are sharing in. It's a sharing of our spiritual life, our life in Christ, with the Father and with one another as well. Now that fellowship is consistently presented in Scripture as a necessary part of our Christian life. And what I'm saying then is that fellowship is essential. And if you're distancing yourself from that fellowship, then you're distancing yourself from God's purpose, from God's grace. Now, when I was a young man and I was in the Marine Corps, I was stationed in Beaufort, South Carolina, and I lived in Frogmore, South Carolina, a couple islands out. And I was going through life and enjoying it, and then all of a sudden, I get a phone call from a man who owned a dairy farm. His name was Charles Henry. And he said, would you be willing to milk cows for me on the weekends? And my first response was, you don't know why I joined the Marine Corps, do you? And I said, no. Thought that was the end of the subject, but it wasn't. He called me back a little later and says, hey, you didn't even know how much melanin I was willing to pay you to come out and milk these cows on a week. He said, at least you ought to come out and meet me and see what kind of a system we have and talk with me about it. So I said, okay, that can't hurt. And at that time, I was living in Fort Royal, South Carolina, and I went out a couple of islands out to where his farm was. I went and saw his farm, and he had a milking parlor, and it was a DeLaval, and it was built in 1959. It was the oldest parlor in the state of South Carolina. And I thought about it, and I said, well, this is pretty simple. And then when he told me how much he was willing to pay, I was thinking, well, that's more money than I'm making the Marine Corps for the whole month. I said, I might have to do that, you know, all my kids need things. And so I went to work on Saturdays and Sundays. Now if I really worked hard, I could get to church on Sunday. But if I dragged my feet a little bit, not so much. And then, I was doing such a good job that my boss, instead of calling a bunch of cattle, he kept adding to the flock. And so it was almost impossible for me to go to church. You know what happened to my spiritual life during that time? And I got so low that I'd have to parachute out of bed in the morning. I got so low that I could sit on a dime and dangle my feet. My life was miserable. Why? Because I was distancing myself from the fellowship of God. Now, I want to share with you another passage of Scripture, and it's in the book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 42. You don't need to turn there, but listen to what God's Word says. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. Acts, chapter 2, verse 42. Now, if you're familiar with the book of Acts, you know right away that this is right after Pentecost and the church just got started. And this is what the early church was doing, correct? And as I read through that passage of Scripture, what I learned is, is that they went to the temple, because that was the only place big enough to hold that group. And the apostles would preach and teach, but then they would meet in individual homes as need had arised, you see. So they were finding their fellowship in the home gatherings, where they could know, love, serve, and care for one another. Small groups were essential within the church, a key part of the biblical life together. And being a part of the body means being in meaningful, committed, personal relationship with others within the local church. In the passage it says they were doing this daily. This was normal Christianity. So listen, when we all come together on the Lord's Day, God intends for something to happen, right? We speak to God, God speaks to us, we use our gifts with one another. Then we have smaller gatherings where we can pray and encourage and minister to one another. And that is what is represented in our text. Actually caring for one another. So as we look at this text this morning, I want us to see three very specific elements that contribute to that. First, the practice of spiritual fellowship. The fellowship of the spirit being practiced. Secondly, the living out of the spiritual fruit or the fruit of the spirit lived out. And then lastly, the exercise of spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Spirit exercised. Now folks, let me remind you, this is the New Testament practice. So caring for one another in the body, what does it look like? Well, it looks like this, you see. It calls for the practice of spiritual fellowship. Now earlier I had talked about fellowship in one John, and we said it was sharing in something together. So here in 1 Peter, you have it described repeatedly. If you look down at the text, let me show you three places. It says, keep loving one another earnestly. Secondly, show hospitality to one another. And then lastly, serve one another. And so what we see then is a purposeful movement towards a believer, a practical engagement in which something is giving, something is being received. That's spiritual fellowship. I'm scratching your back, you're scratching my back. We're ministering to one another. I am giving and I'm also receiving. Now, I want you to look with me at verse number nine. It says there, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Now we have to ask ourselves, well, what is that? Well, I would say the practice of inviting folks over for a fellowship. I would also maybe add this, a Christian name for entertainment. Now, I want you to see how this could be played out. So if you would, take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Luke. Luke's Gospel, chapter 14. As we look at that, I want you to be thinking about motives of why we might be sharing. Verse 1 says, on Sabbath, when we went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him very carefully. So what's happening here is, is one of the Pharisees has invited the Lord Jesus over. But what was the reason for inviting Him over? So they could minister to his needs and he could minister to their needs? Or was there something maybe not so good happening there? A little sinister, we might say. Verse 2 says, And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remain silent. You see the dilemma? Is Jesus going to have compassion on this man, administer to his needs, to help him to get this water out of his flesh? Or is he going to break the law, because we all know you're not supposed to do anything hard on the Sabbath. Let's keep reading. Then he took them and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, which of you having a son or an ox has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? And they could not reply to those things. What a master teacher, huh? He said, you don't want me to do good on the Sabbath? You do. But he's still not done. Look with me at verse 7. Now he told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, when you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor. lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. And he who was invited, you both will come and say to you, give your place to this person. And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit into the lowest place so that your host comes. He may say to you, friend, move up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Now, what's he saying there? When you do hospitality, don't do it to make much of yourself. Do it for the needs of others. Now, he's not done. Look with me at verses 12 through 14. He also said to the man who invited him, when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. In other words, our motive for sharing must be to the praise of God and not to the praise of men. So hospitality is having people in your home with the intent of ministering God's grace to them in some way. You want to encourage them. You want to bless them. Now listen, when we do this, what happens? It costs, doesn't it? I mean, if your wife's like my wife, she's not up here, so I'm okay. She wants the house to be perfect. And she works too, so what does that mean? It means I gotta help, right? But not only does it cost time and effort, but it also costs financially as well, right? Have you been to the grocery store lately? You ever heard of inflation? Everything's expensive. So Peter is saying it's gonna cost you. But listen, I want you to do it without what? Grumbling. Because if you do it with grumbling, it takes all the fun out of it. I'm glad I don't have to do communion now. You know what I'm saying, right? Because I grumble a little bit. But look, caring for one another looks like the practice of a specific act of spiritual fellowship with one another. But not just the practice of spiritual fellowship, but living out spiritual fruit. Now if you would, take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Galatians, chapter 5. Let me remind you what is the fruit of the Spirit, and I've got to read it because I've memorized it in the King James. I've tried to change it to the ESV. I have a hard time. Galatians 5, 22 and 23 says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law. Now listen, the fruit must grow out of our lives is what we are learning here. And Peter doesn't mention all of these, but he does mention a couple of them, doesn't he? Look down with me at verse number 7. The end of all things is at hand, therefore be self-controlled. There it is, right? Look down with me at verse 8. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers the multitude of sin. So self-control and love one another. Now you know what just a thought came to me as I was studying this out? That's the head and the tail, isn't it? Love, self-control. And I just wonder if Peter didn't have everything in mind when he said that. But as we walk in the Spirit, then engage with one another purposely, our engagement with them is marked with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Think with me about your relationships. Is that what marks your relationship with one another? Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Isn't it interesting that when you look at these fruit of the Spirit, the first three deal with the God-word aspect. The second three deal with the man-word situation. The last, the self-inspection. And so when we look at this text, we begin to ask ourselves the question, what will this affect in our lives? And it says, since love covers a multitude of sin. Now, is there anything that someone that you know and love does that irritates you to no end? We have to ask, is it sinful? Or is it just my preference, right? And if it's just my preference, what? Love covers a multitude of sins. And so since my wife doesn't know how to put the toilet paper roll on, correctly. I can let love come to them all too. You see what I'm trying to say here? Think about it. God's people loving and forgiving one another. Folks, this verse is full of grace. And remember, Fruit is produced to be what? Eaten. Not to sit on a shelf and just look how pretty it is. You know, my wife buys some pears sometimes over at the Aldi and brings them home. Them things are as hard as a raft. She puts them in a little brown paper sack because that's how it gets ripe. And you know, there's been a few times where she's put them in that brown paper sack, and we forgot about them. But then we say, oh, wait a minute, we got some pears. And we pick the pears up, and I'm going to tell you something, those pears look tremendously gorgeous on the outside. And then you take your knife, split it in half so you can eat it, and what do you have? Nothing but mush. Look, all right? The fruit of the Spirit is to be eaten. We're to use the Spirit in our lives, you see, not something that we just put on the shelf and look. It's one thing to look good, it's another thing to be good, right? And this verse is full of grace. Now, there's one more thing I want you to see, and that's the exercising of spiritual gifts. Caring for one another like this exercise that God gives us. Look down at your text with me again, would you please? Look at verse 10. As each received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's buried grace. As good stewards. A steward is responsible for another person's resources. Keep that in mind, not your own. So on that day, a steward then would take care of his master's finances and everything he owed. And so what Jesus is saying is that we are to be good stewards of what? Of his resources, not ours, you see. And I tell you what, at the end of the day, I'm so glad it's God's resources and it's not mine because I know better, right? But what Peter is talking about here is this concrete manifestation of God's grace, which he has given to every believer to use to minister to one another. God has given us something, he says, now use it. Minister God's grace through speaking and serving one another. Look with me at two words. The first word is the word gift. Charisma. charis, or grace. Look in verse 11. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Use that gift that God has given you, it's His resources for the good of others. Minister grace through speaking and serving one another. But there's another word I want you to notice, and it's this. It's the word each. The passage says, each has received a gift. Now do you know what each means in the Greek? Each. Alright? Everybody has a gift. All believers, no exception. And God supplies these gifts as needed for the occasion so we might speak and serve one another. But the best thing is, is we can do it in the strength that God supplies us with. And folks, that's the best thing, isn't it? We don't have to try to work something up on our own. We use God's strength and God's power to do what God's called us to do. I wish I'd learned that lesson. Because too often I think everything relies upon me. And I don't thank God for his strength. We are to care for one another by practicing our spiritual fellowship, by living out our spiritual fruit, and by exercising our spiritual gifts. Now, the question is, is how are we pursuing this at New Covenant Church? Well, we're pursuing this, and by God's grace, finding this in our small groups. This is how we've tried to encourage this mutual ministry of caring for one another. And our goals are as follows. Biblical relationships, spiritual life, and Christian growth. So let me make a quick application to three different groups. Group number one, those who are in the small group. Here's my admonition to you. Don't just participate. Be active. You got a gift. Your brothers and sisters needs that gift. So be active in that gift. Ask yourself, is there any way that I can minister to others in which I am currently not? And so, it's not, I'm just going to small groups. And then going home, I'm going to small groups because I want to be active, I want to participate, I want to help my brothers and sisters grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Second group, those who might not be in a small group. And let me graciously challenge those who don't think that they need that in their life. Why? Because that type of self-sufficiency lies in the face of New Testament teaching, that's why. We need one another. We need each other badly. You know, I think this about our pastor's meetings that I have. You know, having a pastor's meeting kills my week. I mean, I take almost a whole day out into that, you see. And I never seem to get caught. Man, I'm telling you what, the day in which we live in the turmoil that sometimes we're in, in the fights that we fight, we need each other. And it's good to get together with others that are going through the same thing you're going through. So I say, well, it's going to eat my day up, but I got to do it. It's more important. And it might be more important for me to be there so I can be active. Then lastly, I want to talk to the church as a whole. I want you to see this as it truly is, as an essential part of our life. He says, therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right as long as I am in this body. It's good for us, but more importantly, this will bring glory to God. Whoever speaks is one who speaks for his people. Whoever serves is one who serves by the strength that God has given him. In order that in everything God may be glorified through his people. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. What does this text say? He gets the food. Let me just say one more thing before we close. True biblical fellowship does not happen. You want to know how you can become a Christian, don't leave this house. Thank you, our Father, for meeting our needs, and helping us to be a part of us meeting others. Help us, our Father, to do the one another. Until Jesus comes again, we'll sing for him.