The End is at Hand

by Dr. Don Sisk

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. I Peter 4:7

The Apostle Peter in writing to Christians of his day reminds them of the urgency of the hour. In verse 7 he writes, “The end of all things is at hand.” In other words, any day could be your last day; any breath could be your last breath. He must have had at least two things in mind:

(1) you could die at any time or

(2) Jesus may come at any hour.

In light of these two inescapable incidences, we should live each day as if it would be our last. We should treat each relationship as if it would be our last meeting. We should conduct our conversations as if this would be our last opportunity to talk with that person. We should perform each task as if it would be our last time to serve in that capacity.

Following the warning that the end is at hand, Peter gives some great exhortations in I Peter 4:

1. Get Serious — “Be sober” - Verse 7 – He says, “be sober.” In other words, Get Serious – the end is at hand. Get serious about your salvation! Get serious about your service to God and others! Get serious about a lost world! That world begins in our homes, our neighborhoods and our cities and extends to the uttermost parts of the earth.

2. Pray — “Watch unto prayer” - Verse 7 – We must have God’s power to do God’s work. Prayer will give us the supernatural power of God in our personal lives and in our ministries.

3. Love — “Have fervent love among yourselves” - Verse 8 – Perhaps the greatest need among Christians is a great revival of old-fashioned love for one another. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples because ye have love for one another.”

4. Serve — “Minister one to another” - Verse 10 – How our churches could be transformed! The work of worldwide evangelization could be greatly enhanced if we were less interested in being served by others and more interested in serving others. In this we could imitate our Lord who said, “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

5. Speak the Word — “Let him speak the oracles of God” - Verse 11 – The end is at hand. It is too late for vain philosophy, pop psychology, positive thinking and other inventions of mankind. We need the Word of God, not the thinking of man.

6. Depend on God — “Let him do it as of the ability which God giveth” - Verse 11 – Jesus plainly taught his disciples; thus he is teaching us, “Without me you can do nothing.” We are totally dependent on Jesus for all things. We are bankrupt spiritually if we have become dependent on materialistic means, technological methods, political pull, personalities or any other thing other than the Lord Jesus, His Word, His Power and His Presence.

7. Glorify God — “That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ” -Verse 11 – Our purpose is not to glorify self, churches, organizations, denominations, schools or any other institution. Our purpose in life is to so pray, so live, so labor, so love that God will be glorified. The exhortation of the Lord Jesus Christ is “Let your life so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven.”

The Apostle Peter says in essence, “The end is at hand! Jesus may come today! You may die today!” Therefore he exhorts us to be sober, to pray, to love, to serve, to speak the Word of God, to depend on God and to glorify God. Jesus may come today! I may die today! Therefore, I must be about my father’s business!