Build This House – part 5
Build This House – 5
1Pe 4:8 Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others]. [Pro 10:12]
1Pe 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
1Pe 4:10 Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor].
1Pe 4:11 Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Building Requires Servants, Not Spectators
When Peter writes this letter, he’s speaking to believers scattered under persecution — people struggling to hold on to faith while trying to live out their purpose. He tells them something powerful: if you’re going to build the house of God, you must learn to live as stewards of His grace.
He’s saying: This isn’t about just believing, it’s about building.
And you can’t build God’s house without having a servants heart — people willing to work, sacrifice, and pour out what God has put in them.
We live in a culture that celebrates being seen, but God celebrates those who serve.
The world wants platforms — the Kingdom needs pillars.
And pillars don’t move — they hold things up.
Mrk 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
WE SERVE GOD AND OTHERS OUT OF OUR LOVE FOR GOD.
Never serve God to please other people.
Never confuse serving with work. It’s an act of worship and obedience
Never serve to be celebrated for serving. God is your reward.
Building Requires Servants, Not Spectators
- Serving assists with Separation from your old way of living v.1-4
“Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same purpose…”
Peter starts by reminding us that serving begins with a mindset.
You can’t serve God effectively if you’re still trying to please the world.
1Pe 4:3 You have already lived long enough like people who don’t know God. You were immoral and followed your evil desires. You went around drinking and partying and carrying on. In fact, you even worshiped disgusting idols.
idolatry is the worship, love, trust, or service of anything or anyone other than the true and living God.
It happens when a created thing — person, possession, system, organization or desire — takes the place in our hearts that belongs only to God.
1Pe 4:4 Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it.
He says, “The time that’s already passed is enough for doing what the Gentiles do.”
Translation: You’ve wasted enough time living for yourself.
Now it’s time to live for the will of God.
Serving requires separation — not from people, but from priorities.
You can’t live to please your flesh and please your Father at the same time.
When you choose to serve God, you’re saying, I’m done chasing comfort — I’m committed to calling.
And when you take that stand, Peter warns, the world will look at you funny.
They’ll say, “Why don’t you hang with us anymore? Why are your values different?”
But that’s because you’ve been called to build something eternal — not entertain something temporary.
Point 2: Serving Demands Sobriety (1 Peter 4:5–7)
“The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer.”
To serve well, you have to stay sober-minded — clear-headed, focused, spiritually disciplined.
This isn’t the hour to be distracted. The world is loud, but your purpose requires clarity.
Peter says be self-controlled so your prayer life remains effective.
Because service without prayer becomes performance.
But service rooted in prayer becomes powerful.
If you want to build God’s house, you can’t do it on emotion — you’ve got to do it on devotion.
Prayer keeps you centered. It reminds you that the power doesn’t come from you — it comes through you.
Point 3: Serving Is Sustained by Love (1 Peter 4:8–9)
1Pe 4:8 Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].
1Pe 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Peter says the foundation of service is love.
Love is what keeps us serving when it’s not convenient.
Love makes you forgive people you’d rather avoid.
Love moves you to action and not judgement
Love reminds you of your past to increase compassion for others
Love makes you show up when you don’t feel appreciated.
Love is what separates a volunteer from a servant.
A volunteer works until it’s uncomfortable.
A servant works until the work is complete.
Peter says, be hospitable without complaining.
In other words — don’t just open your house, open your heart.
Because love is the mortar that holds the walls of God’s house together.
Point 4: Serving Is Stewardship (1 Peter 4:10–11)
“Each one has received a special gift — employ it in serving one another as good stewards of God’s multifaceted grace.”
That word steward means manager or caretaker.
God has entrusted you with something — a gift, a talent, an ability — and He expects you to use it for His glory.
Every gift in the house matters.
Your gift may not be on stage, but it holds the structure.
Your gift might not have a microphone, but it has meaning.
When you serve, you’re managing the grace of God.
You are literally distributing His favor into the lives of others.
If you withhold your gift, someone else’s need goes unmet.
You can’t build God’s house by sitting on God’s blessings.
Peter says if you speak, do it like God Himself is speaking through you.
If you serve, do it with the strength that God supplies.
That means we serve from grace, not for recognition.
Point 5: Serving Glorifies God (1 Peter 4:11)
“So that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
At the end of the day, all of our serving, all of our building, all of our giving — has one purpose:
That God be glorified.
We don’t serve for applause.
We don’t serve for titles.
We serve because we want the world to see Jesus through what we do.
When people walk into the house of God — they should see His love through our service.
They should see His grace in our giving.
They should feel His power in our unity.
Because when we serve, we don’t just build buildings, — we build people.
Build This House
Peter closes this passage by anchoring everything in Jesus Christ.
He says, “To Him belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.”
when the Church learns to serve, the world will learn what grace really looks like.