Living Like There's No Tomorrow

When you log people to God when you love people. Nothing back in your love love people like you were trying to win the love Olympics when you do your love like you're trying to win a gold medal apology fervently strenuous loving others is not option Jesus said this is my command. Love one another. Today we continue our counter of scripts, messages, connect with Skip number 36 is Skip's message living like there's no tomorrow where he shares of sacrificial love strong as you wait for Jesus return reading the stories of the Bible is a very good walking where the stories took place is at a whole another level Skip Heitzig is planning his next tour and you can be honest, here's the invitation from Skip urine for an incredible time as we travel throughout Israel and experience the culture that's so unique to backcountry now. I've been to Israel and number of times over the years and I can honestly say that visiting the places where the events of the Scriptures unfolded. Jesus lived taught and healed.

It just never gets old will start on the Mediterranean Sea and head north. Seeing places like Caesarea and Nazareth Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River will spend several days in and around Jerusalem and see the temple mount Calvary garden of Gethsemane and amount of all and much more. This remarkable itinerary is made richer with times of worship, Bible study, and lots of fellowship. The Bible will come alive to you in a way it never has before. I hope you'll join Lenny and me on what is always an unforgettable trip. I can't wait to see you in his this dream can come true for you. Start planning and saving now to tour Israel with Skip Heitzig information, inspiration, cruises.com/CAP Q that's inspiration cruises.com/C ABQ now were in first Peter chapter 4 Skip Heitzig to gets into today's message tomorrow. Tomorrow is what comes after today, although we have no guarantee that it will actually comment all but we have a hunch that it will rethink that it will just keep coming and that is because of the simple fact today used to be yesterday's tomorrow and it came because those days just sort of keep piling up and keep on coming. That's why we often say I'll do it tomorrow. I can't finish it today so I'll do it tomorrow, so we bake on the idea that were just going to have more and more and more tomorrow's joy also know that tomorrow is a very elusive idea that the more tomorrow's we get under our belts, the shorter they look they become shorter incrementally each day when you're young you think you have also tomorrow's we just never end.

I mean think of it, if you're if you're two days old, tomorrow's half your life. The older you get, they seem to be shorter. I remember when I was a little kid in school and I had a teacher named Miss Feiner she was a beautiful gal and I just thought she was awesome until she announced to our class for age. She said it's my birthday. I'm 25 years old and I remember thinking goodness. 25. That's old. She doesn't have many tomorrow's left because I on the other hand was thinking.

I have an infinite number of tomorrow's left.

Then there were my parents and they they were just so sold to me. I thought they they can have many tomorrow's left at all.

Abuse, most of them up like the little boy he said to his grandpa.

Grandpa were you on the Arctic reference. Of course I wasn't on the art. The little boy still couldn't get us was it so so then why did you drown you just got your lease. That old how to just survive the flood truth is one day we will have no more tomorrow's at all left, there will be none.

Some of us may not actually make it true. Tomorrow it's one of the facts of life. Like the patient went back to see his doctor.

After a series of tests and the doctor said well the test came back I got good news and I've got bad news. The good news actually shipped 24 hours left to live. The patient said how can that be good news will look to be worse than that. Dr. said the bad news is I was supposed to tell you yesterday that you are 24 hours left to look so is my question. How would you live if you had no tomorrow, no more. Tomorrow's were guaranteed you, what things would change how would you live in the light of that without as an introduction. We go to first Peter chapter 4 beginning in verse seven, but the end of all things is at hand.

Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins be hospitable to one another without grumbling as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers let him do it with the ability which God supplies that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Now there's a problem with Peter's statement in terms of our reading it and that's the first statement he makes in that paragraph says eat the end of all things is at hand reason I say that's a problem is that he wrote that 2000 years ago. So we read this document. 2000 years after he said the end of all things that hand with a big? Because certainly, as we read the New Testament. John the apostle Paul the apostle Peter all in their writings talked about the end the consummation of all things, and they taught in the imminent return of Christ that he can come at any moment and they believe that but here he says the end of all things is at hand. When the New Testament closes Revelation 1 of the last words of Jesus is this, yes I am coming soon so we read that and we asked, so how soon is soon and actually helped by a book by CS Lewis called voyage of the Dawn treader in the Chronicles of Narnia series where there's a conversation between Lucy, one of the humans in the story. Having a conversation with Aslan that Christ figure the lion and their parting company and Azlan says to Lucy. Lucy don't look so sad.

We will meet soon again and she says please Aslan. What do you mean by soon and Azlan replied by saying I call all times.

Soon is what I want you to know and I will get into this the last days is technically a phrase in the New Testament that refers to the time between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ, that of all of human history that is the last part of human history between the first and second coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So we are living in the last days but we must be living in the last part of the last days because of all of the predictions made that have been fulfilled in our lifetime.

So let's just put that aside because we should be living in every generation should be living in the anticipation and expectation that the Lord to come back.

There's a question whether you have one tomorrow left or thousands of tomorrow's left. How should you live, how should you live with. There's three things that Peter says because the end is near.

Three things, pray harder love deeper and serve smarter. Those are the three areas we examine this morning. Pray harder love deeper serve smarter.

Let's look at the first one in verse seven, but the end of all things is at hand. Just for another clarification means near you and say the end of all things is here it's near it's moving God's consummation toward the end is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Stop for a moment right there be serious and be watchful in your prayers. How does that sound familiar to you. Think of Peter. Think of the last time Jesus said those words to Peter. They were in the garden of Gethsemane right member when when the Lord brought Peter James and John into the guard of disseminating. He said something to the effective bite.

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to the point of death watch with me. So Jesus goes away. Praise comes back and he finds them what are they watching that are watching the inside of their eyelids. What they're doing to Congress on logs and and so the Lord Jesus said to them, why couldn't you watch with me one hour in his final expectation, watch and pray, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. So here's Peter sort of resurrecting that idea when he writes these words the end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers how to live like there's no tomorrow. Pray harder, pray harder not notice something whenever a sermon is discussing prayer people get a little bit nervous were not particularly fond of sermons messages about prayer. You wonder why that is because we don't do it much.

This is the honest truth. Prayer is huge on our priority list. And so whenever somebody talks about or read a book on wheat we fidget a little bit. One source said the average Christian praise 45 seconds a day and that's usually over a meal. Another source unrelated to the first says the average conservative Christian in a total year.

The total time spent in a year praying six hours now, the same source goes on to describe other activities, hobbies and shopping mall expeditions in a year, 90 hours sporting activities 100 hours vacationing 120 hours prayer six hours. I'm not here to keep guilt on you. You don't didn't work. So let me be honest with you I'm here to confess my own inadequacy in this area. I have a problem in my Christian life. Me and it's a loss of passion over time. The loss of passion over time, like spiritual entropy that happens I can think back to my early Christian walk. When I discovered prayer and it dawned on me. I am in conversation with the create tour of everything. He is listening to my words. Moreover, he's very interested in what I have to say and he wants to help me and I member that dawning on me, and made such an impact on but I would go camping. I was single I would go camping to three days and I fast and pray with some of the most exhilarating times of my life. But as time went on, as tomorrow's Coming I just found that passion sort of leaking out.

It wasn't what it used to be anymore prayer becomes professional and contained what Peter seems to be saying if I'm reading it accurately is that as your tomorrows become fewer your prayers should pray harder as time takes its toll as time casts its shadow on the path of your life. What will sustain you more than anything else is a solid prayer life. The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers back to my own experience. The reason all of that happened to me in happens to me. It happens to me all the time. As part of the life of a believer that we deal with can be summed up by what Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2, he said I know your works, and of your patients. I know all the stuff you do your very active you're very busy but I have something against you. I don't like when Jesus says that that's something against you, what is it you have left your first love you left your first love one translation. The new living says you don't love me like you did at first. There's been a cooling of passion. There's been a waning of commitment. At first it was really good. You love me as I could to the first you left your first love.

By the way, don't misquote that I have some people say Jesus said you have lost your first love.

You don't lose it you leave it you walk away from it. You make conscious choices not to need him as much as you did. And that is been my problem. Left your first love in. Interestingly, when Jesus writes of them.

He says you do a lot of things right. I know your works, and of your labor and your patience and your discernment, so you're busy here active you're going through the motions of devotions, but there's an erosion of devotion deep inside her know what happens in our relationship with the Lord. Here some you can relate to more easily it happens in every relationship in life happens in marriage anybody is when the counselor knows what it's like to have somebody sit on the other side of the desk and say something like we just all love each other anymore. And especially if you know the couple any wash their journey you look at them and you wonder what happened what happened to that young girl whose heart skipped a beat whenever she heard his voice, what happened that young man who would drive across town just to deliver a bouquet of flowers.

What happened to that couple who used to talk together about everything so much and one of the things about a dating relationship is the couple. They just talk forever about everything two in the morning or talk we talk about the carpet.

I smile a little bit of that because according to James Dobson's is going to a restaurant and watch couples and you can tell in the restaurant who's married is not. He said, I guarantee you this, the married ones are not talking much the married ones are talking at once dating look at each other's eyes or talking back and forth, back and forth so anyone in any relationship can leave their first love leaving your first love is not a blowout it's us it's a gradual leak over time to pray harder as your days get fewer pray harder as the first one second 1 2nd Way to live like there's no tomorrow.

Love deeper love deeper watch this verse eight and above all things, preeminently more than anything else, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins be hospitable to one another without grumbling when you agree that love is the identification mark of the Christian is a birthmark that identifies you belong to Christ. That's what Jesus said don't know. You are my disciples, could you love each other, work fervent have fervent love some translation to say love deeply.

So I decide love deeper deeper love fervent love work fervent literally means strenuously strenuously. It's a word that in ancient times describe the horse at full gallop that horse was stretching and straining its muscles is the word for fervent. It also described an athlete who would stretch or strain his or her muscles to win the race. Give it all that he has or she has so now let me read translated when you love people give it all you've got. When you love people hold nothing back in your love for them love people like you are trying to win the love Olympics.

When you log people do your love like you're trying to win a gold medal in law biology. That's loving fervently strenuously. Now you'll notice in our text. There's two aspects of this love that Peter talks about first is the law that covers then there's the love that recovers there's covering love and recovering love covering love is in verse eight above all things have fervent love for one another, watch that he's quoting the text for love will cover a multitude of sins. He's quoting Proverbs 10 which is hatred stirs up strife. Love will cover all sins when somebody wrongs you and right now you're thinking of somebody, perhaps, who has somebody wrongs you, you have your two choices that you can make the one you can cover it up and forgive number two you can expose what that person is this kind of love will not air dirty laundry.

This kind of love does not want to expose weaknesses or cause humiliation. This kind of love seeks to handle things privately, discreetly, before it ever goes public and there is a time to go public. Jesus said in Matthew 18 you go to that person one on one and you tell that person. His center hearse and privately if they don't listen you bring somebody else with you. Just another person. If you don't listen to that person, then you widen the circle. There's a time to go public but this kind of love is protective. It stretches itself out in order to cover. I know some people that take pride in uncovering not covering.

Or they feel so righteous that their whistleblower there uncovering sin on the gospel Gestapo is my calling in life. I am the great sin Sniffer's. I smell it. Around here I'm gonna find it eventually. You know the type. This is covering love seeks to cover the second type of love is recovering love verse nine be hospitable. Hospitality be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Hospitality is a New Testament word that literally means loving the stranger hospital comes from that you'd set up a system to treat people you may or may not know them but you're hospitable to them is to love the stranger. Here's why this was vital for the early church in the early church.

They met in homes that have church buildings.

They met in homes and the believers who had their homes were also confronted with a particular situation where there were preachers or evangelists who would travel from place to place and needed a place to stay. There were no Sheraton hotels or Hilton Hotels or Hyatt hotels any of that and and ends. Back in those days were anything but a holiday so because of that you'd open up your home to them, you let them say with you. You may not know them but you are kind to them. That's hospitality that that's what admin in its original content. Skip hike to 36 minutes from his series rocksolid message skips teachers as well as full-length sermon series anywhere, anytime device YouTube.com/Calvary ABQ now we want to let you know about a resource that traces Jesus path to the cross and set you on a trajectory to an even more fulfilling life in Christ Neil Armstrong to Nancy first first words are well now on all plan on coming links to first new sleep center begins with Aldrin, 1959 July summer before John gets out of the Eagle payment for step on the moon gently before that elders opened the pouch and took out wine and bread represented body, but if you Christ, and he he had a personal communion service and that moment when I found out about it about a year previously hit me like a thunderbolt. He noticed to realize that the first thing ever on the moon. The last supper you hike resource receive your copy when you get the gift of $35 and just going to connect to stick.com or call one 892 1888.com or call one 868 next week. Skip hike six shares another top 40 message and talks about the reality of life without Christ and the joy of living your life with him. We were DLA dead on arrival. As we were born into this world. Yet that is separated from God because of sin is an important thing to get another little head unbelievers are just sick or dead. They lack the capacity to respond to stimuli. In this case for that's important because it shows us they don't need a self-help course that I need a personality just need salvation needed in flying God's presentation of connection communication through ever-changing time