The End is Near

Preached by Pastor Chad Rickenbaker on October 4, 2026 [watch online] |  1 Peter 4:7–11

1 Peter: “The End is Near”

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 as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. —1 Peter 4:7–11 (NKJV)

In 1997, Joye and I moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina, so I could attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Like most seminary students, I needed a part-time job to go along with full-time classes. I pulled a slip off the school job board and landed a position in a field I knew nothing about: vacuum cleaner repair. A store in Raleigh hired me to work in its service department.

Three things stand out about that job. First, vacuum cleaners are disgusting. The worst ones were the commercial machines from restaurants, and the worst of those came from a seafood chain. Imagine a vacuum that has spent its whole life cleaning seafood out of carpet. Second, the service department was a cinder block room in the middle of the building with no windows. I had just come from pastoring a small church outside Summerville, South Carolina, while working outdoors on my dad’s farm. I learned quickly that God had not called me to vacuum repair.

The third thing was my coworker. He was a fellow seminarian, working for the same reason I was. As the days went on, I noticed a habit. Around 3:30 every afternoon, he slowed way down. He was watching the clock so he wouldn’t have to start another vacuum before quitting time. That bothered me. I was raised on an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, and here was a man who had sensed a call to ministry, in my opinion, cheating his employer.

I think Peter shared that sensibility about how we use our time. He writes something that stops me every time I read it: “The end of all things is at hand.” Not the end of the day. Not the end of a certain responsibility. The end of all things. Peter’s point is that because the end is near, now is not the time to pull back. Now is the time to press in.

What Peter Means

There are different views about what comes next on God’s redemptive calendar. One view, and I think it’s what Peter has in mind, is that everything that needed to happen has happened. Creation, the fall, the covenant with Abraham, the Exodus, the formation of God’s people, the Babylonian captivity and the return to the land, the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Pentecost and the birth of the church: all of it is done. The only thing left is the return of Christ.

So we don’t say, “Jesus could come at any time, so let’s eat, drink, and coast.” No. Because the end of all things is at hand, we press in. In these verses Peter calls us to four actions.

1. Pray

“Be serious and watchful in your prayers.” In the New King James, those two words are close in meaning. Together they describe a mind that is mature and calm.

Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering and persecuted. When hardship comes, it’s easy to become hysterical. Our thoughts run away with us, and we become irrational. So how do we keep our wits about us when trauma or persecution comes? The answer runs through the whole Bible and through this letter. Peter has reminded us that we are pilgrims passing through:

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, —1 Peter 2:11

He has told us not to be surprised when suffering comes:

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; —1 Peter 4:12

And he has told us that God uses our trials to refine our faith:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, —1 Peter 1:6–7

That mindset keeps us steady. God is forming something in me through this, so my pain is not wasted. With God, nothing is wasted. Don’t panic: pray. A calm mind keeps our prayers from being scattered and helps us pray in line with God’s will. In hardship our first prayer is usually, “God, get me out of this.” That’s not wrong. But what if God wants to do something in you through it?

Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He fell before the Father in anguish, anticipating the agony of the cross:

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. —Luke 22:41–44

Let me say this clearly: it is not wrong to feel the weight and pain of a trial. Being a Christian doesn’t mean being stoic. Jesus felt it. But as He prayed, He moved into agreement with the Father’s plan. Then He got up, and Judas came with the soldiers to arrest Him. Jesus was composed. The one who lost his wits was Peter:

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. —John 18:10

Jesus felt the emotion, but in prayer He aligned His will with the Father’s. That is our example. The key to effective prayer is aligning our prayers with the will of the Father, which we find in His Word.

2. Love

“And above all things have fervent love for one another.” Peter ranks this. Above all things. The word have carries the idea of holding, maintaining, and keeping. Keep your love for one another constant and fervent.

Why does Peter stress this? Because when life gets hard, we turn inward and become self-absorbed. And he gives a reason: “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Peter is echoing Proverbs:

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. —Proverbs 10:12

In my slang, love covers a bunch of sins, including a bunch of the irritations we have with other people.

Here’s how I think about it. On a good day, a cool fall day with the windows down and your favorite music playing, the other drivers don’t bother you much. On a bad day, when you’re late for a meeting across town and Greenville traffic isn’t what it was fifteen years ago, those same drivers driving the same way irritate you a lot more.

Or take December 1998. Joye was expecting our firstborn. The birthing class told us to pack our favorite snacks, and Joye and I share a few. At the hospital, things moved fast and then stalled. I got bored, watched the contraction monitor (“Oh honey, this is a big one”), and was told to leave it alone. So I found the Chex Mix and started crunching. I did not realize I was about to be murdered. I put it away, went to the foot of the bed to rub her feet, and the next contraction came: “Don’t touch me.” I retreated to my chair until the doctor told me otherwise.

That’s how it is. When you’re in pain, people irritate you more than usual. Peter was writing to a whole church in pain, and he knew they’d be getting on each other’s nerves. When love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is misunderstood, and conflicts abound.

This love involves our emotions, but it’s also an act of the will. The people who irritate us or sin against us aren’t usually the ones we feel natural affection for. We don’t wait for our feelings to catch up. We choose to set our love on them. Why? Because the end is near, and if Jesus comes today, we should not want Him to find us at odds with a brother or sister in Christ. And because this is how we’ve been loved by the Father. Some sins against you will require a conversation and a pursuit of reconciliation. But there’s a whole multitude that you can simply forgive before God and move on. Not every molehill has to become a mountain.

3. Host

“Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.” Hospitality is one of the marks of Christian community, and Scripture calls for it again and again:

distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. —Romans 12:13

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; —1 Timothy 3:2

Hospitality isn’t about the size or decor of your home or the quality of the food. It’s about opening your life and your home to serve others. It draws people together and models the love of Christ.

In college, while I was at Charleston Southern and serving a church in Georgetown, I needed to be there full-time during the summer. A church family invited me to live with them. They were both fabulous cooks, they had a stocked pond beside the house, and after work I’d go fishing and come home to biscuits and gravy. That was over thirty years ago, and we are still friends today. I love them like family. Many of you have experienced the same thing when church members in Utah open their homes to our mission teams.

Is it always easy? No, and Peter knows it. That’s why he says “without grumbling.” You can grumble while you clean the kitchen, but as soon as you complain, you’ve forfeited the blessing.

Our church is full of opportunities. Talk to Natalie, Blake, or Ford about taking some college students home for Sunday lunch. Invite Spanish-speaking families from our church over. If you’re worried about the language barrier, Google Translate works fine, or bring Allison along to translate. Invite new members over for dessert. You don’t even have to bake: Ingles has a key lime pie in a green box in the frozen section. Just take it out of the box. Sharing life together in a home creates a deeper bond. In Peter’s day, traveling believers had no hotels, so there’s a context here. But underneath it all, God places a premium on relationships, and hospitality is one place we get to give and receive that.

4. Serve

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Every believer in Jesus Christ has been given a spiritual gift by God’s grace to serve others. Because it’s a gift, it’s nothing to brag about and nothing to draw attention to yourself with. Paul writes about these gifts in several places:

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. —Romans 12:4–8

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. —1 Corinthians 12:4–11

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. —1 Corinthians 12:27–31

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, —Ephesians 4:11–12

Notice that we are stewards of these gifts. God has entrusted them to us, and we’re accountable to Him for how we use them. We can’t keep a gift to ourselves. We use it with humility and intentionality to make the body stronger.

Peter names two categories. “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.” If your gift is teaching or speaking, teach according to God’s Word, because your opinion isn’t nearly as valuable as His Word. “If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies.” If your gift is serving, serve in His strength. And here is the goal: “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Which One Will You Apply Today?

That ties directly to our mission as a church: we exist to glorify God and make disciples. God says of His people:

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him. —Isaiah 43:7

And Paul writes:

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31

How do we do that? From these five verses alone, here are four practical ways. We glorify God when we pray with clear minds according to His will. We glorify Him when we love one another fervently and don’t hold every offense against each other. We glorify Him when we practice hospitality. And we glorify Him when we serve one another with the gifts He has given. We do all of it knowing that the end of all things is at hand.

I’ve often thought back to my coworker in that windowless room. What if the owner had walked in at 3:45 and seen him coasting? If that would concern me, how much more should I care about what my Lord finds me doing when He returns? Will I be praying? Loving? Hosting? Serving?

So which of the four needs the most work in your life? Maybe it’s all four. That’s okay: start. If one stands out, let the Holy Spirit point it out through His Word, and work on that one. And as Peter closes this section, do it for His glory.

Scripture references in this message: 1 Peter 4:7–11; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Peter 4:12; 1 Peter 1:6–7; Luke 22:41–44; John 18:10; Proverbs 10:12; Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2; Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 27–31; Ephesians 4:11–12; Isaiah 43:7; 1 Corinthians 10:31. (NKJV)

Want to go deeper? Join us Sunday mornings as we continue through 1 Peter at Berea First Baptist Church.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.