1 Peter 4:1-11 “Stewards of Grace”

The first part of our Scripture this morning is very plain to understand: We must simply turn our own will over to the Will of God. We see that at the end of verse 2 in our scripture. We can hear Jesus himself make this prayer to God when he is in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest and crucifixion (Luke 22:420); He accepts his going to the Cross with the words, “Not my own will, but yours be done.” Furthermore, we pray these words every time we meet here in the church when we say the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We keep praying that our will is lessened and God’s Will triumphs over our decisions.

You are standing in the kitchen wondering what on earth you are going to make for dinner. It is always a struggle! You ask, “Lord in heaven, what will I make for dinner tonight?” You turn your own will over the Lord! You hear the God whisper coming into your ear: “Wrangler’s, Wrangler’s, Wrangler’s!” You answer back in prayer: “The Kiawe grilled ribeye with mushrooms?” “Your Will be done!”

We try not to bother the Almighty with our daily decisions such as what we should eat. That is why we always have peanut butter and jelly for breakfast–everyday! That is why we always have fried rice on Sunday night and pizza on Wednesday. When God wants us to change it up, God will let us know. But imagine that you had nothing at all on hand to eat–your prayer “What should I eat for dinner?” is lifted up to God. For, we also pray “Give us this day, our daily bread. . . .”

Let us keep going up to verse 4. The word here for "surprised" in Greek actually has the word for foreigner in it. Ξενιζονται in the Greek means literally to be “living as a foreigner or stranger.” I would translate this line as “It comes together in the mind as a foreign thought. . . .” The Will of God is going to come to you as a foreign thought. It will surprise you. It may seem astonishingly foreign.

Now, I have lived as a foreigner in many countries. And, I have known many foreigners living in this country. Let me share with you the story of a young mother named Rosa whom I met through teaching ESL. She was from a village in Jalisco, Mexico. She had come to this country in order to make enough money to send it back to family who were literally starving to death in that village. She told me one day that her only hope, “la unica esperanza en la vida,” was to be with her family again. Then she would add “Ojala, ojala.” This is the Spanish for “if only, if only,” but it literally comes from a Moorish phrase you might have heard before “Inche Allah”—but “for the Will of God.”

Over the years Rosa was able to bring her children one by one to the US. One by one her hopes were fulfilled. Then, one day word came that her own father had passed away. Her hope to see her own parents was dashed. Then, she said to me “Ojala, I will see my father again in the sky.” She said it in English with the literal “in the sky” from the Spanish “en el cielo,” meaning “in heaven.”

So, we are all foreigners here on earth with that incredible hope to see our loved ones again—starting with our Father who is in heaven! I can share with you that the times that I have lived apart from loved ones overseas, my whole worldview would shift to just hoping to see them again. So, as a foreigner on this planet, my hope remains that great homecoming in heaven.

I would be remiss if I did not restate here and now the text we had four weeks ago, 1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh. . .” This same sentiment is echoed by James in Hebrews 11:13 and by Paul in Philippians 3:20.

This leads us to that word in verse 4 that some of you may have already googled while sitting in the congregation during the Bible reading. “Dissipation” in verse 4 is simply not a word that we see everyday or use in our regular conversations. In fact even in its original Greek form it appears only three times in the Bible. The Greek is ασοτιας, and is really two separate phonemes brought together into one idea. The “a” part of it means “not” or “opposite of.” And, the “sotias” part means “saved.” So, simply put “dissipation” is the process of “un-saving” somebody. One might say “wasting.” If you are not saving, then you are wasting. So, seeking your own will is wasteful. Salvation comes by seeking the Will of God.

I believe that Peter’s point was to say that if you were not being saved, then you are simply wasting away. You are wasting or squandering the gift that God has given you. As we know from John 3:16 that “God gave us the sacrifice of God’s only Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life.” God has given us Jesus. What have we done with that gift? God has given us eternal life. What of it?

So, dissipation is squandering God’s gift of love over your life. I was thinking about this recently while looking at a picture on social media of a couple I had married in another state. I had some years ago spent my own money to fly to this man’s first wedding, not to officiate, but as a friend of the family. That first marriage eventually failed miserably when the wife walked out on him to be with another man. I am of course sorry for the money I lost in travel expenses and the gifts to the couple; that was a great waste. However, the worst thing about this is that the love was wasted. The love was squandered. Where did it go? It dissolved into nothing! The couple was in love when they got married. Then, one of the people in the marriage just decided that she does not love the other one any more. This is essentially the idea of dissipation.

The man decided two years later to get married again and asked me to do the ceremony this time–so that it would stick. I told him that he and his new fiance would have to go through the pre-marital counseling with me. Then, he would have to pay my ticket on the plane to the wedding. I did not want him wasting my time or money. I told he had to stay married this time–so far so good!

In each example, by the way, the person who suddenly decided that they did not love the other was the non-believer. I am beginning to think that it really is hard to marry the worldly and the Godly together. Perhaps they are too foreign to one another after all. This is how not to have dissipation again–no wasting love!

Without the hope of salvation unto God’s glorious kingdom, our lives are simply dissipating. Our loves are dissipating. Everything becomes more and more worthless. Although it may seem alien to a world that is wasting away, I will believe in the eternal life, the eternal love, the everlasting Glory of God. I will believe that Jesus offers me the only salvation in this world.

Jump to verse 10 with me please, for we are called upon to be the “stewards of God’s manifold grace.”This is such an interesting idea, but unfortunately we are not living in a time when the understanding of being “a steward” really exists. A steward is simply the one who lives in the master’s house to serve the master. Whatever the master wills, the servant is supposed to make happen.

So, we are not just supposed to ask God that God’s Will be done; no, we ask, “Lord and Master, what do I need to do to make Your Will happen in the here and now?” For God does not serve us, rather we serve God! When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we might not see that as our call to effect God’s Will in the world–but we should. If Jesus is our master and we are servants, than WE are the good stewards of God’s Will.

This last week I was up at the church cabins in Kokee. In cabin B I noticed that an LED light fixture was busted. No light came out when I flicked on the switch. This is one of two light fixtures in the dining area. So, I thought to myself, is it God’s Will that people eat their camp stew in the dark? Would it not be more likely that God would want people to be in the light? Maybe I should pray to God to fix it!

Wait a minute! Maybe God intends for me to be a good steward of His Will and go to Home Depot and buy a new light fixture for the cabin? Maybe I should be a good steward of the cabins! That made more sense! For God’s light to shine, which is His Will, I need to fix something.

Well, the whole world needs fixing. The whole world needs our good stewardship to make God’s light shine again! We live in a time of profound dissipation–that is a lot of un-saving. We need to start saving again through God’s love for one another and the grace given to us by Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen