Love Fervently
6-8-25
Gifts. Even though they say it's better to give than to receive, we all love receiving gifts don't we? Let's be honest, that is one of the big reasons why we love Christmas so much, because we love receiving gifts. There's nothing wrong with that as long as we don't lose sight of what Christmas is really all about.
As I thought about that this week, I can't even begin to recall all of the gifts that I have received over the years. But recently, I have received a couple of very special gifts. One was Lisa completely surprising me with a surprise party for my 60th birthday. It was perfect with friends and family there to celebrate and all the work that she did for that, I'm still in awe over it.
Then a couple of years ago I received another amazing gift for Christmas. Lisa again, there's a theme to my favorite gifts and my wife, and Daniel, bought me a football with the Nebraska logo that was signed by Nebraska's three Heisman trophy winners. You college football fans know the significance of that. In terms of non-spiritual, material gifts, it was one of the best I've ever gotten largely because I like the gift but even more because I like the giver.
I do remember one year when I was pretty young. My mom was pregnant and it was right around the time she actually lost the baby. Because of that, dad did all of the gift buying that year, and quite a year it was for me and my sister. Two gifts for me still stand out in my memory. I got one of those electric football games with the little plastic players and it would vibrate and you could line them up and kind of sort of run plays but they would just hook arms and turn around in circles. I also got that year among other things I'm sure, an electric slotted race car track. I think that was the last year dad did the shopping.
I'm not going to bore you this morning with any more gift stories from my life. I didn't even mention the great gift that Lisa has been to me over the years and the gift of our sons that we have been blessed with. Of course, the greatest gift that anyone ever receives is the gift of salvation that God graciously gives to us and all of the spiritual blessings that we enjoy because of that.
This morning, as we continue our look at the book of 1 Peter, we're going to see where the apostle continues to give his readers spiritual tools to help them deal with the trials and persecutions that they were experiencing because of their love for the Lord. One of the key tools that we all have available to us that helps us deal with the problems of life is the spiritual gifts that we receive from the Holy Spirit. Let's now read 1 Peter 4:8-11.
As we said, Peter is writing this letter to help his readers deal with the persecution they were facing because of their faith. One truth that he taught is that believers can endure and persevere through the trials and tribulations of life because Jesus' Second Coming could literally be at any moment. Because His return is imminent we can survive the difficulties of life knowing that we have something better waiting for us in heaven.
As we're waiting for the Lord's imminent return, there are things we need to do. We need to be of sound judgment; we need a sober spirit; we need to pray and be fervent in our love and show hospitality. We also need to speak the Word of God carefully and to serve others through God's strength.
The key to us being able to obey all of those commands is self-discipline. Last week, we saw that in order to effectively exercise self-discipline we need to engage in a couple of areas of spiritual disciplines. We need to be spending quality and quantity time daily praying to God. We also need to be spending quality and quantity time daily reading, studying and applying the Word of God to our lives. Doing those things will go a long way to helping us be who God wants us to be and to do what He's calling us to do regardless of the circumstances we face in life.
As we pick things up in verse 8, we are first of all commanded to keep fervent in our love for one another. The word fervent denotes stretching or straining and pictures a person running with taut muscles, exerting maximum effort. Ancient Greek literature used the word to describe a horse stretching out and running at full speed. Peter uses this same word earlier in this letter in 1:22. In both cases, he is using the word to describe the intensity and exertion that ought to characterize Christian love. Such love is sacrificial and requires a stretching of believers every spiritual muscle to love in spite of insult, injury and abuse from others.
One aspect of fervent love that should be evident in our lives is a forgiving spirit. Prov. 10:12. If we truly love God and are truly seeking to love others, we will do our best to harbor forgiveness in our hearts. Forgiveness is a decision and a commitment, not a feeling or emotion. So regardless of how others react and relate to you, and no matter how you feel, we all must forgive others. If we don't forgive, or refuse to forgive, it indicates a lack of salvation.
Fervent love also needs to be a priority. That's what Peter is getting at when he says "above all." That kind of love should be above anything and everything else because it is of supreme importance in a believer's life. 1 Cor. 13:13. We need to make it a priority to love others the same way that God loves us.
According to Peter, that kind of love covers a multitude of sins. Scholars are a little mixed on how to interpret that phrase. One thing they are sure of is that it doesn't mean that if we have done badly and committed sins, that we can overcome our own personal sins by showing love to God or by loving others somehow. How many of your have ever thought, "I should be doing something good to God or others today because I really messed up yesterday." What you're really saying is that I need to show some love to cover my sins. We don't cover up and overcome our own sins through acts of love.
What that phrase does mean is that God's love covers our multitude of sins. That is exactly what happens when His grace is poured out on us and we are forgiven and saved. Another option is that the phrase describes believers who are lovingly overlooking the sins of others. In all honesty, the phrase can actually mean both of those things. Whether from God or from us, love covers sin. God loves us while we are sinners and we need to love others no matter how awful or sinful they may be treating us.
The love described here is the well-known Greek word agape. Agape love is God-like, unconditional, sacrificial love. God's agape love resulted in Him choosing to love all those who believe. Rom. 5:8. Christians must follow His example. We need to choose to love even the unlovely. John 13:34-35. True love is like forgiveness. It is not a feeling or an emotion; it is a decision and a commitment. We choose to love others no matter how they treat us.
That type of love also involves being hospitable. According to the Mosaic Law, Jews were to extend hospitality to strangers. Jesus commended believers who provided food, clothing and shelter to others. Being hospitable is more than just what we do for people however. It also includes an unselfish attitude. If we are truly showing hospitality to others, what is done is done, no matter the sacrifice, without complaint.
Fervent love should be evident through the exercise of spiritual gifts. Every true born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has a spiritual gift of some sort. We all have a divine enablement that allows us to minister to the body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:7, 11. Just as each part of the human body has a particular function, so does each member of the body of Christ.
Not only does God grant spiritual gifts and arrange them within the body in different ways as He sees fit, but He also gives us the faith that we need in order to exercise the gifts that He gives us. Each believer's spiritual giftedness is unique. Because the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes spiritual gifts, believers cannot earn them; we cannot and don't need to pray for them; we cannot in any manner generate a gift for ourselves. We don't ask, pray for or expect any certain gift to be ours, God gives us what He wants us to have.
There are two main passages in the NT that speak of spiritual gifts. 1 Cor. 12:8-10, Rom. 12:4-8. We're not going to go into great detail this morning concerning each and every one of these gifts, but we are going to briefly touch on the ones we find in Romans.
The first gift listed here is prophecy. The word prophecy literally means to speak forth. The gift of prophecy therefore is simply the gift of preaching, of proclaiming the Word of God. This gift is the gift of being God's public spokesman, primarily to God's own people, to instruct, admonish, warn, rebuke, correct, challenge, comfort and encourage.
When talking about the specific gifts listed here, we need to be careful that we don't jump to wrong conclusions. You may hear what was just said about prophecy and determine that you don't have that gift, which is fine, not everyone has every gift. There are also no gifts that everyone must have as some sort of proof or evidence of salvation. But it's also true that even if you don't have the gift of prophecy, as believers, we all have a responsibility to proclaim the word of God, in one way or another. With or without the gift, we all need to instruct, warn, rebuke, correct, comfort and encourage other believers. That same truth applies to all of these gifts.
The second gift listed in Romans is that of service. That is simply another word for ministry. This gift is manifested in every sort of practical help that Christians can give one another in Jesus' name. There are some who have this gift and just naturally step in and do what needs to be done to serve. But again, even if this isn't your gift, we still all have a responsibility to serve and minister to others in the name of Jesus.
The third gift is that of teaching. The Christian who teaches is divinely gifted with special ability to interpret and present God's truth understandably. It's very closely related to the gift of prophecy. The difference between the two is that prophecy is the ability to proclaim God's Word, while teaching is the ability to give regular instruction in the Word. Someone may be good at instructing concerning the Word, but not gifted to proclaim it as a preacher.
Next is listed the gift of exhortation. This word literally means to call someone to one's side. This gift would include the ideas of advising, pleading, encouraging, warning, strengthening and comforting. Exhortation could be used to persuade a believer to turn from a sin or bad habit. It can also be used to encourage that same person to maintain his corrected behavior.
The fifth gift mentioned is the gift of giving. The one who exercises this gift gives sacrificially of himself. It carries the idea of sincere, heartfelt giving. The person with this gift does not give for thanks or recognition, but for the sake of the one who receives his help and for the glory of the Lord.
Leadership is also a gift listed here. The word has the basic meaning of standing before others. Effective leadership must be done with diligence, with earnestness and zeal. Whether it is possessed by church officers or by members who direct such things as Sunday School, the youth group, the nursery or some committee, the gift of leadership is to be exercised with carefulness, constancy and consistency.
The last gift mentioned in Romans is mercy. This carries the idea of actively demonstrating sympathy for someone else. The gifted Christian who shows mercy is divinely endowed with special sensitivity to suffering and sorrow. They also have the means to help alleviate such afflictions. It is feeling put into action.
We're not going to look closer at the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians because some of the gifts listed there were temporary gifts as signs given to confirm the Word of God during the apostolic age and ceased after that time. Those gifts would include miracles, healing, languages and the interpretation of languages.
Some of the gifts are more visible than others. Preaching, teaching, evangelism are more apparent sometimes. But that doesn't mean they are more important than the gifts that are simply less visible, like praying, hospitality or mercy. God views all of the gifts that believers have as edifying to the church and He sees their exercise as essential to the well being of the body of Christ.
Not everyone may be aware of their gifts. Sometimes it might even be hard to try to figure out what your gift might be. That doesn't matter. All we need to do is to be obedient and available to God for Him to use however He wants. Instead of seeking out your gift, and many of you may already be aware of how God has gifted you, simply seek to live for God and do what He is calling you to do. He knows your gifts and He will use you where you are best suited to edify the church.
Peter ends this section with a doxology of praise to God. The goal of everything about our lives as believers is to glorify God. 1 Cor. 10:31. As we express praise and glory to God we do it only through the power we have through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So be it.