All of the following scriptures written below in orange are taken from the KJV Bible.
Today I would like to talk to you about 1 Peter 4:7-11. This is Peters instruction to us as believers our duty in this hostile world. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. After Jesus was resurrected from the dead before He ascended into Heaven to be with the Father He told his disciples: John 14:26-27 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The Father sent the Holy Ghost to this earth so that we could invite Him into our hearts to be saved, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. We must remember without Christ we are nothing and that there is nothing that we can do or say without Christ Jesus that will ever save us. It is only through Gods grace through the faith in Jesus Christ that we are washed clean and saved. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
Now the first point I would like to talk about is the cost of becoming a Christian. The cost of Christianity is very high. Meaning we must give up all we are and all we have for the cause of Christ. Being an authentic Christian demands a willingness to pay the price. All though being a disciple of Christ may be costly it is not hard. Matthew 11:30 say’s this “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”And John tells us this in 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” On the other hand rejecting the Holy Spirit and living without Christ is hard. A life of unanswerable questions, depression, guilt, and after all that to spend eternity in hell, that’s hard. Proverbs 13:15 puts it this way “Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.” You may say okay David I am a Christian but it seems to me that living a Christian life is hard in this world. Yes it can seem hard if you are not truly walking in Christ as He intends you to. The exciting thing is you can make your life easier and as we go deeper in this study God will reveal the steps necessary to achieve such a life. The very first step you must take is personal holiness. In a world that has everything at our fingertips we need to guard our minds and practice self-control. How do we do that? Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Continually pray, study the Word of God and bring yourself under the submission of God so that even your involuntary thoughts are holy. Every day we face trials and temptations so what we need to do is praise and worship God and thank Him for the opportunity to go through these trials. James 1:2-3 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." Just look at the life of Job in Job 1. The bible calls Job a perfect and upright man that feared God. Satan said to God that he could turn Job against Him, so God said alright you can do anything you want except touch Job. Satan did just that, Jobs animals were taken away, his servants were slain, while eating dinner his sons and daughters were crushed and killed by the very house they were in. After all that had happened to him in verse 20 it says he fell down on the ground and worshipped God. If we constantly are thinking on holy things and meditating in God’s Word even when trials come our way we will want to worship God.
So control your mind, meditate in the Word and the next step will come easily which is love. 1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” The word fervently means: having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit or feeling. You may ask, well how do I love fervently then? You must love the unlovely or unloving. Love your enemies the people that have wronged you. When you begin to love the way Christ wants us to love, then loving our enemies will be quite easy because there in 1 Peter 4:8 at the end it tells us that “for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
Now, first is personal holiness, secondly is to love fervently and now thirdly is service. Serve through the spiritual gift that God has given you. 1 Peter 4:10-11 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Every believer has been given a spiritual gift. We are called to use our gifts within the body of Christ, “church”. 1 Corinthians 12:12 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” See we are called to use our spiritual gifts within a church as a group because we then form a body. On the other hand when a body is missing a part it makes it more difficult for that body to function properly. So if you are not in a church but are truly born again get into a BIBLE believing church and use your spiritual gift whatever it may be.
Now that we have discovered the crucial steps needed to walk in a world that is corrupt, it is time to step up and do it. Through the next several weeks I will break down each step to help us draw even closer to God. Practice personal holiness so that when you are tempted it will be easier to shrug it off, love everyone and last use the gift that God has given you. If you have any questions or comments on this study please feel free to do so by either the comments tab below or by email at wyoboy83@gmail.com 
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