1 Peter 4:12-19 Insulted and Unashamed

ReCAST Church of Mattawan

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Welcome to the podcast of Recast Church in Madawan, Michigan This is a message from Pastor Don Filsek from the series

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Ready for the Storm on 1st Peter. If you'd like more information on Recast Church, please visit us on the web at www .recastchurch

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.com Here's Pastor Don. Good morning, welcome to Recast Church Don Filsek, I'm the lead pastor here, and I'm glad that you chose to slide on in hopefully there were no accidents and you took your time.

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One of the things that I feel kind of compelled to say is that we do not generally speaking cancel church on Sunday mornings when there's bad weather.

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What we do is ask that you please use discretion and even if you work in an area of ministry, we don't want anybody driving unsafely out there to get in to teach a class or to make coffee or anything like that.

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So if you just by your own knowledge of your own driving skills kind of say or your own vehicle say

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I don't think I can make it in, then please just contact me and you can let me know or you can contact yeah,

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I guess the best way is probably just to try to contact me and let me know that you're not able to make it for your assignment and then we can go from there.

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So but we don't we don't generally cancel and obviously you guys know that now because here you are. So I hope that that God rewards your your your presence here with a challenge from his word and certainly the truth this morning that one of the things that we gather together to do

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I mean the primary reason we gather together is to grow in our faith and that I say this I've said this multiple times that growing in faith looks like taking in God's Word believing that it's true and then going out in our lives in and living it.

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So it is our conviction that the Word of God is central to the process of faith that we read it we believe that he indeed has spoken these things to us and that it is indeed true that it's worth our lives basing our lives on that and then we go out and we live it throughout the week.

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So that's our goal here this morning. Be sure to fill out the connection card that you received when you walked in you can turn that in in the black box that's over here underneath on the table by the clock there and if it's your first time with us and you fill out one of those connection cards then there's also some free coffee mugs that are out there please take one of those on your way out just our way of saying thanks for joining with us this morning and trying it out

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I know that I'm trying out a church for the first time can be kind of a scary thing don't know what to expect and so we just want to thank you for taking that chance with us and coming out and then lastly any offerings that you would choose to give go in that same black box and there's an envelope provided for you if you choose to give that's available there.

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If not this week, then you can just recycle that envelope over there there's a place for that and we can reuse those offering envelopes each week.

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One thing I want to highlight is that I'm very grateful for the sound system that is set up every week in here and we do have need for a couple of more individuals.

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We are not necessarily looking for skilled positions it's not somebody who has to know a lot of technical stuff it's kind of plugging in cords and cables and things like that and it would be kind of a train into kind of position and so if you're interested in that it would be looking for like maybe just once a month on that so if you're willing to to take a chance on that and say yeah

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I could I could come in early one Sunday a month and set up and help set up speakers and cables and run cords and stuff like that and learn then you can come and see

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Brian Frank is right if you want to just raise your hand there Brian come and talk with him or you can come and talk with me either one and we can we can get you plugged in there see what

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I did a couple of you got it, but don't Also lastly there is a

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Meeting right after the service for those that are interested in dedicating your children. That's going to be coming up on February 15th we're gonna have a service here on Sunday morning just to Really focus in on that We're gonna just meet go out the door and towards this this end of the hallway at the end of this service

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So if you're interested, maybe you've already communicated that with me I'd still like you to show up for that meeting and maybe you haven't talked with me previously

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But you're kind of saying yeah, I want to be part of that. So I'm coming just that's more informational than anything

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So come and check that out Alright with all the announcements out of the way if you if you've been around for this series in first Peter Then you know that a major purpose of the letter

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The reason that Peter took his pen in his hand and wrote this was in part to prepare the people of God for Suffering that's why this really kind of scary sermon graphic ready for the storm this idea that that there is a storm indeed out there and it's a reality and Peter doesn't sugarcoat that he doesn't candy coat the

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Christian life But says there is suffering now in the day of the original author when he was writing this stuff

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They were on the edge of literal persecution Physical persecution it was coming on that They were they were wrapping up kind of a really significant

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Jewish persecution where the Jews were killing Christians What they didn't realize is that they were right in the middle of a little bit of a lull between the

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Jews many of them Hadn't been exiled and fled to Rome and what they didn't realize is that the hammer of Rome was going to come down on them pretty quick and so they were right on the edge of a huge Roman from the

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Emperor down kind of Persecution and many Christians that read this letter that Peter wrote would within a decade or so lose their very lives

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So they were they were reading these things hearing these things and then boom the persecution fell now in our day and age

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It seems very unlikely that any of us will face first physical persecution or physical suffering due to our faith

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And so we could read first Peter and go well, that's for someone else That's something that they need to hear over in China.

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I've mentioned or in the Middle East or in North Africa or some other place

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But Peter in our text this morning does us a favor and brings it a little closer to home for us

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He brings it right where we live in the realm of suffering for Christ. He includes the words insult and shame in the process of persecution

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Being killed for our faith here in America, not very likely Being imprisoned for our faith in America.

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Not yet Being insulted for our faith in America getting a little warmer a little bit closer

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Feeling a sense of shame at the name of Jesus in public

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Think about that it's likely something that everyone in this room who is a believer and believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and believes that he is the only hope that you have for the thing that matters most and I would guess that the majority of us have at some point in our lives felt a sense of shame at the mention of Jesus in some kind of a public forum or in some way with friends or in a sense of Maybe even having said it and then finding that shame was heaped on you for it

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And so as we dive back into the text of first Peter here this morning please remember that is dark and negative as Some of the things at first that Peter says in first Peter can get remember that Peter is seeking to set forward

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Hope in the midst of the real sufferings of real -life people real -life followers of Jesus Christ Again I love it that Peter doesn't candy coat the

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Christian life he doesn't hold out for us some kind of a health wealth or prosperity oriented life as If to say that if you are with Jesus Christ once you become a

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Christian everything's gonna go well for you If you just have enough faith You'll have all the health that you need if you just have enough faith

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Then you will be wealthy if you just have enough faith Everybody in your workplace is gonna love you and is gonna say oh man, he's great or man

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She is awesome, and you're not gonna face any shame. You'll face no persecution No scorn because Jesus loves you and everything's gonna be just fine

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He says He says we will suffer And he's gonna suggest something radical in the midst of this suffering in this text this week says we're gonna suffer and Then he goes on to say and we should rejoice in the midst of that very suffering

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So let's open our Bibles to 1st Peter chapter 4 verses 12 through 19 1st

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Peter 4 12 through 19 And if you don't have a Bible on your lap But you could just raise your hand and one of these guys will bring you one

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We're not trying to call you out. Oh, look. They didn't bring a Bible It's just we do want everybody to have a copy of the

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Word of God on their lap On your lap so that you can follow along 1st

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Peter 4 12 through the end of the chapter, which is verse 19. This is God's Word for us this morning recast

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Church Beloved Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange

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Were happening to you But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings

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That you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed If you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed

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Because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you But let none of you suffer as a murderer a thief or an evildoer as a meddler

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Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name

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For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God and if it begins with us

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What will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God and If the righteous is scarcely saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

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Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing

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Good Let's pray father

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I rejoice in The opportunity to gather together as your people on the snowy Sunday morning father

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I know that there are many who couldn't be with us this morning just because of the the weather and the roads and I thank

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You for keeping us safe on the way here father I pray that you would return us to our home safely as well. But during this time that we would

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We would meet with you father There would be a sense of your presence here among us as we as we worship and sing these songs father

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That would be so much more than just an exercise of our voices But it would be an exercise of genuine worship and recognition that you are worthy.

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You are glorious. You are majestic You are high you are to be exalted above all things in our lives

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Above all football games above all sports above all things that might grab our attention

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Father, I thank you for the the many different aspects of life that you have given to us in which to worship you

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So father, I pray that you would be glorified in the hearing of your word The believing of your word the singing of these songs

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Even in the fellowship and the rejoicing that happens later today and the excitement enthusiasm around a sporting event that father

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We look forward to and simultaneously recognize. It's a gift from you Father, I pray that you would be honored and glorified throughout this day and specifically in our gathering this morning in Jesus name

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Amen Thanks a lot to the band for leading us in worship I'm grateful for the time and energy that they put in every week and just thankful for the skill that they've given if I had

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To stand up here and lead you guys in worship. You probably wouldn't last very long. So I'm really glad for these guys Make sure you keep your

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Bibles open to first Peter chapter 4 verses 12 through 19 as we as we dive in and we are gonna walk through this text and I want you to be able to See that that's kind of the outline of what

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I'm going through so that you can you can see it Remember that whatever it takes to kind of keep comfortable if you need to get up and get more coffee juice donuts

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Just like Pete is over here. I mean not to call you out or anything, but Feel free to get up at any time

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Or like I said stretch out in the back use the restrooms down here at the center of the hallway Whatever it takes to keep you focused on God's Word As we walk through these books of the

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Bible I think sometimes it's beneficial and helpful to take a pause and remember who wrote it like who is this author?

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And I've mentioned a couple of times We've taken a little pause here or there to talk about Peter and who he is and the way he rolls and how we know

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Him from the Gospels. Sometimes we disconnect different parts of Scripture. We don't see the big picture

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And so we're not remembering that this is the same guy from that was one of the 12 Disciples that followed

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Jesus all around during his three years of ministry So the fact of the matter is we know very little about the

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Apostle Peter Prior to his encounter with Jesus Christ on the shore of Galilee He was

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I guess we can surmise some things there's some things that we know certainly from after he met Jesus that we can kind Of see some of his personality shine through but I don't think it's a stretch to say he was an outdoorsman kind of guy

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Okay, he with all that that entailed in the first century. He spent much of his time in the outdoors out in nature

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He was a fisherman by trade I would guess that if you shook his hand it would feel a little bit like sandpaper a bit of a rough guy

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I I picture a man with deep wrinkles on thick skin. I imagine a beard that would make the

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Robertson boys jealous Okay, I I don't know why I mean that's just the image that I have of this outdoorsman kind of guy

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Fishermen rough -and -tumble kind of guy trying to eke out a living on the shores of Galilee He doesn't appear to have been a shy person when it came to his opinions and thoughts

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He would share them readily in a group and often be the first to speak Occasionally even putting his own foot in his mouth.

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He had what we could call foot -in -mouth syndrome So he would say exactly what he was thinking very quick to weigh in on subjects and say it quickly

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And so this is the guy who when we come to verse 12 Tenderly addresses his readers in verse 12 with the word beloved

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Says you're loved. I love you. I care for you We get one word of pause out of Peter one word

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Demonstrating his love and compassionate concern for his audience Before he dives headlong into a really tough subject

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Like a dad who sits down with his son and says I love you son But any of you ever have a conversation like that with your dad?

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I love you. I love you son But and then it's like what comes next you're kind of like not expecting that to necessarily be pleasant what comes after that statement

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It's like well, I care about you. I care about you. That's good. But there's something I need to say to you

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Peter says in essence here at the start of this text this morning. I loves you guys But don't be surprised that the flames are licking at your heels

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It's obvious that these elect exiles. He's actually writing to these little these literal pockets of Christians all throughout

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Asia Minor Have experienced already some degree of fiery trials

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They've already been engaged to some degree within this realm of suffering and trials and difficulties that they've had to face in their lives

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They're already already identified as exiles The text has already said he that's who he's writing to and so in the process of writing to exiles

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Do you recognize a person doesn't become an exile by choice? I don't know if you've ever identified that exile is something that happens to you.

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You're kicked out It's not something that you chose. It's not like vacation You're not exiled to Florida.

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Although that might mean some of you are like could I that's I'd sign up for that, right? But uh exile is something that you're forced to do

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You didn't want to go you didn't want to leave and these people have physically had to relocate or been relocated out of force

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Right away in verse 12 Peter is addressing what could very well apply to many of us We may be tempted to be surprised

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When we are attacked or insulted or persecuted And Peter wants to correct in us any expectation that everything is going to just continue to run smoothly in your life

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He wants to correct that now Peter is not speaking as some kind of a prophet of doom You know that oh, it's all gonna be doom and gloom and everything's gonna be horrible

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So just brace yourself because it's all gonna be bad and storm clouds are brewing and it's gonna be terrifying

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And that's not his point. It's not to be discouraging But also on the other extreme, he's not just kind of like like moralizing or just giving like a good proverbial statement

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You know into every life a little rains gonna fall. I Mean, we just know that things won't always be up.

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Sometimes there's gonna be dark days Sometimes there's gonna be and he's not he's not Like just fluffing this thing for us

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He's not all the way over here just doom and gloom and everything's horrible, but equally he's not over here just saying well

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You know, just don't worry about it. Don't stress. You know, there's not gonna be any problems It's it's I mean there's gonna be problems, but they're not that big of a deal

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What he's doing in this text is he's attempting to prepare our hearts for trials and tests

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That will indeed come to us. He's identifying that they will come to your life

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It's going to happen and we ought not to think it's strange

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We ought not be surprised When trials come into our lives

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Shouldn't be surprised by that the fact is Peter is flat -out

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Disagreeing with some of the most successful preachers in the world in this text this morning

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You can tune in right now and hear preachers who will tell you that You have bad things happen because you have a negative outlook

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If you just thought more positively you wouldn't have bad things happen in your life But you're you kind of self -fulfill these things

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So as long as you expect bad things to happen then bad things will happen to you Have you ever heard that preaching if you just believe if you didn't name it and claim it, right?

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that kind of Preaching that kind of teaching they'll tell you that if you just name your blessing name that new car name that promotion

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Name that relationship you're looking for name that healing over your rift in your family

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And it'll be yours You heard that kind of preaching It's becoming more and more prevalent in our culture and the most successful Largest church in America today has that message to give to you

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Any questions why it might be successful? How many of you like the notion

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I mean really just being honest How many of you like the notion of an easy life a good life a fun life?

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One where everything goes your way Isn't that what we're kind of driving for every time we argue with our spouse every time we disagree with somebody every time we

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You know push back against our boss or whatever it might be Isn't that what we're really identifying is boy if you just did things my way my life would be a whole lot easier

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So it's latent in us. It's a it has to be washed out We have to let the Word of God have its way in our hearts to transform us from what is natural to us

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And that's us What is natural to us my way? Now I didn't your way whatever you know what

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I mean Yeah Yeah, right there. That's that's it my way, right?

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Peter disagrees with this concept Says the exact opposite in our text says you ought not to be surprised

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When you suffer You ought not to be surprised when things don't go your way

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You ought not to be surprised when things that attack your health happen in your life

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Don't think of trials and tests as rare or strange And then

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Peter goes on to say something radical says rather than think it's strange look at it as an opportunity to rejoice

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Rejoice when you are pressed by fiery trials Why? Because we have an opportunity to share in the sufferings of our

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Lord and Savior and King Jesus Christ who suffered for us

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This call to rejoicing is a supernatural calling None of us in this room are equal to the task that's being laid out for us in this text

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Nothing about suffering lends itself to natural joy, right? Our rejoicing and gladness according to verse 13, by the way is not placed in the trial as if to say yippee

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I get to suffer It's not placed in the hardship But we will rejoice and be glad when the glory of Jesus is revealed because we have an opportunity to suffer along with him

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Just like he did so let me illustrate this And again knowing our author has an impact on this text

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Because Peter is not merely preaching. This is a tough message to preach

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But he actually lived it Peter. We have a specific example in Acts chapter 5 when

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Peter was younger. He had a chance to live this out the Apostles were in Jerusalem preaching and proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ and The high priest didn't like that message that they were proclaiming and so he had all of the

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Apostles arrested In acts 5 all of the Apostles were arrested

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Peter was one of them and then we come to the sentencing in verse 40 and from and I'm gonna quote

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Acts 5 40 says and when they had called in that's the the council

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Who is trying the Apostles and when they had called in the Apostles they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name?

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of Jesus and Then they let them go Then they the

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Apostles left the presence of the council are you ready for it some of you know, what's coming?

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Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name

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Counted worthy to suffer counted worthy to be beaten for the cause of Jesus Christ Peter lived out what he is telling us.

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He lived out this level of supernatural calling Rejoicing thank you.

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Thank you God that I had an opportunity to suffer for your name. Thank you How many of you think just just a show of hands?

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How many of you think that is supernatural, but that's not normal That's not natural. That's not what you expect to read in that text you expect them to Run off along to their homes with their tail tucked between their legs

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But they didn't run off Goes on and every day in the temple from house to house.

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They did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus Rejoicing that they had an opportunity to suffer for Christ So here's a historical account of this passage being put into practice by Peter himself the author he was there

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He was arrested. He was in prison for the cause of Christ. He was beaten and when he was released he rejoiced and praised

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God That he could suffer for Jesus name He saw it as a privilege to suffer for the one who had suffered so much for him

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As supernatural as this calling is it is possible only when we understand the great love that Jesus has toward us and How great and glorious the future is that he holds out for us?

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Just as Josh mentioned it struck me Just how close it was to what I was thinking when I wrote this sermon this concept that eternity is long and life is short

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These are momentary and light sufferings Paul who was beaten shipwrecked abused left for dead stoned all of this stuff and And he's called his experience light and momentary affliction last time

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I'm guessing that nobody have any of you ever been like had rocks thrown at you because of your faith Uh -huh

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And he calls this light momentary affliction just just kind of small stuff small stuff in the light of This eternal weight of glory that is held out for us

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Peter isn't even really talking about being imprisoned or beaten for our faith though Look at verse 14 if you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed

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Jesus basically said the same thing in Matthew 5 11 if you're taking notes You can jot that down in the midst of the

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Beatitudes one of my favorite sections of Scripture Jesus said this blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account

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The blessing however is not some mere general giddiness. You know yippee. I'm suffering

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How's your day going? You know like so yeah somebody how's your day one? It's going great. You're never gonna believe it

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Couldn't be better my boss fired me because I brought a Bible to work I shared the gospel with my best friend

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And they made fun of me in front of all my other friends and someone else who saw a verse I posted on Facebook Called me an ignorant bigot awesome day glorious day

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Because it just you know I'm skipping skipping along just because I'm suffering

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Peter indicates that when you are insulted your blessing comes anyway because Because the reason for the rejoicing because the

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Spirit of God The Spirit of glory and of God rests on you

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How can you experience insult as blessing? Because you are not acting in your own glory

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You are not acting in your own spirit but in the spirit of the glory of God himself that rests upon you and That's how insult can be turned to rejoicing

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But there's a side note that Peter engages in verse 15 a side note on suffering There's a type of suffering that he has told us about throughout the book that he wants to clarify

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There is a there is a suffering for a cause that is not Is not worthy if you're suffering for wrongdoing?

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There's no joy or blessing in that if you've done wrong, and you're being punished for it You should be punished for it right there should be a consequence to that he says and Peter gives a pretty severe list of wrongs

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Don't don't suffer as a murderer you guys Don't suffer as a thief Don't don't suffer because you've been arrested and now you're going to jail because you've been stealing from Walmart Don't don't do that stuff

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He's he basically lists out these things and it's a pretty pretty dense list like hopefully nobody in the room is struggling with Stealing hopefully nobody in the room is struggling with murder

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Right like I mean, I hope that's not real But then he adds this one at the end. That's kind of kind of funny, and I think it's intentional

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I think it might be something that they were struggling with at the time and and have you ever like made a list That's like really grave and severe and then tack one on at the end

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That's like not so severe, but it happens to be the one that your kids struggle with Some of you know what I'm talking about you like kind of add that one in you know don't be a murderer

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Don't be a thief don't hit your brother You know and he says meddling meddling an interesting word something that you could actually be

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Prosecuted for under Roman law just getting in each other's business but it was against it was like a literal like offense to interfere with and some of the some of the nuances of this word have to do with interfering with the

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Religious practices of others, so it's likely that Christians could actually be accused of getting in the way of Idolatry or getting like physically like like getting in the way of like processions of religion or things like that that were on their way to Sacrifice to Saturn or something like that and so they would actually

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There could be the potential for them to literally come under Roman law by meddling or getting involved or interfering with family dynamics there were a lot of Roman laws that centered around what you about your involvement in the family and so It's possible that that might be what he's talking about there, but he says don't don't don't be rightly accused

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Jesus said you know it's good when you're reviled and insulted and things like that Falsely in my name, but when it's true, then that's not you're not blessed then that's not a blessing you're getting

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What are you getting the exception there? By implication we should experience shame when we suffer for doing wrong

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But Peter says if we suffer as a Christian, we should not be ashamed but glorify God through the name glorify

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God through the name of Jesus If you're insulted or made fun of for the cause of Christ It may seem quite natural for you to feel and experience a sense of shame, right?

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It's possible How does this look in our daily lives? Maybe I kind of go well

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I'm not sure if I've ever experienced this but I think maybe you have to some degree and if I if I give you some

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Illustrations, maybe that'll help a little bit this type of insult Insulting could be as simple as someone accusing you of sheltering your kids because you won't let them watch certain

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TV shows or maybe it's even Someone in your family I've noticed that family members have a tendency to get involved in the raising of kids that are not their own

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Have you ever noticed that? Maybe the grandparents who want to tell the the their kids how to raise their kids

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And do you know what I'm saying? Or or what about well, you're just you're just you're sheltering them and It's can it can and it can strike as an insult.

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It can't you can have a shame response to that, right? It can be shameful in you kind of going like yeah, I guess maybe

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I am maybe I'm maybe my kids are Maybe I'm destroying my kids Maybe you know and so there there's a sense of shame that can well up and all you're trying to do is you're trying to Honor God in the raising of your own children and all of a sudden the world wants to tell you you're doing it wrong

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It could be a person at work Who calls you a prude behind your back because you won't engage in inappropriate humor there

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And so there's a rumor and you've got a reputation at work is oh don't oh, yeah no, there's whispers as you walk up to the water cooler or as you enter the conversation because Everybody kind of gives a knowing glance.

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Yeah, he's here. I guess we can't have fun now You know I'm talking about Some of you experienced that very thing.

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It's an insult and it's a shame response and I mean I would I wouldn't be surprised if there are some who are and it would make sense that you're pulled in to things that you

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Don't even want to be pulled into because you don't want to be that guy or that girl who is always destroying the conversation ruining everybody's fun

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So it can be tough I know that it can be tough to stand up for Christ in this world

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It could be someone who calls you archaic for believing that the Bible is true And they and they have it out for you

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And whenever you talk about biblical truth or you talk about things that are are solid in Scripture, and they're like well

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Why are you even going to this book? What does that have to do with anything and they look down their nose at you and think you're ignorant?

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Or that you're you're just you're just not smart. You're not scientific enough. You're not Up to date really you're gonna take this book that was written 2 ,000 years ago over whatever

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These are realities that you will face if you're taking the call of Christ on your life seriously

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There will be insults. There will be opportunities for you to feel shame. There will be opportunities for you to feel insult

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Just this past week. I reposted a video of a preacher that I often listen to I love

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Matt Chandler. Have any of you ever heard of Matt Chandler? I didn't maybe you've heard of heard him from me But if you get a chance to podcast the village church in Texas, I think the village church is the name of his podcast

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But whenever he's preaching I mean, I love to hear him He's he brings the Word of God alive and it talks a lot about cultural things

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But I I reposted this video and he it's him speaking on the issue of abortion I don't even know

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I know that if I if I post something on the issue of abortion I ought to be open to some kind of controversy you kind of like I was

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I was I asking for it. I Reposted it. I thought that what he said was quite factual not extremely controversial

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He wasn't trying to be controversial, but he's just trying to be direct But I was engaged by a couple of friends who conveyed significant disagreement on my wall.

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Some of you may have seen that But what I want to point out is that what was going on on my wall

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Was tame compared to what was going on in my message box Okay, so there's this one conversation that you guys can all see and then there's the conversation that was going on Where I was just getting inundated with just horrendous statements

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Horrible statements insulting statements that were kind of hard to process to be honest And it's like it's one of those things where it's like I just don't even want to answer these, you know,

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I mean, they're Just just tough things talk call me inexperienced ignorant insulting my gender

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Insulting my trust in the Word of God all the different kinds of statements there insults as a result of our stand on what scripture says

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Are not completely rare in our culture and I actually think they're going to continue to increase

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There's an increasing Turning up and ratcheting up the temperature of the dialogue And so we need to be wary and careful and cautious I mean we need to be cautious about how we say what we say we need to be careful about what we say we need to make sure we're bringing love into the conversation and that what we say is said in a heart of love and genuine care and concern for others and not

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Trying to win the point or trying to win the argument I think we've all been guilty or many of us have been guilty of that at times of trying to win versus trying to show love trying to express the love of Christ to others

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And a sense of shame This is reality a sense of shame is lurking just beneath the surface of every human

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Just it's just just a scratch away And part of that I think is because God made us for community

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He made us as people as humans. We need each other It was not good that the man was alone and he made a helper suitable for him and then

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Relationship flows out of who God is in trinity father son and holy spirit for eternity

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And so relationship is part of how we've been made We could call it herd mentality or community mentality or something, but we want to fit in is that right?

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We long for that We want others to like us And this highlights one of the key reasons it's important that we practice unity and growing in community here in this church at recast

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We need to be reminded regularly that we are not alone in this struggle to walk with christ

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We need to keep growing closer to others who are following jesus The world is going to increasingly be less and less friendly

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Peter shifts gears and gives a strange insight into the reason that even god's children experience suffering and It's almost like by the way that he shifts gears.

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It's implied that maybe a question in his culture was why do christians suffer? Why would a christian ever suffer?

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I mean why doesn't god love you and doesn't isn't he taking care of you and So he goes on to say the final judgment has already begun

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And it begins he says with the household of god a bit of a strange phrase You know we were thinking

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How many of you really cling to the notion that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus

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That's one of them. That's that just that's a core verse for me. Just this I mean i've got hope

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That there is no condemnation for the sins that i've committed which are many But they are washed by the blood of christ and they are they are no more

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And so what does this mean that judgment begins with the household of god? Does it strike anybody as strange like how are we being judged?

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Oh, no Uh, am I in or am I out and we could start to ask these questions But I believe in a very generic sense.

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Peter is reminding us that all suffering In the end is indeed the result of the judgment of god towards sin

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Now hear me carefully not specific sin Not as if you can point to hurricane katrina and identify the sins that caused the hurricane or the earthquake or whatever but These things would not be were it not for sin

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Are you getting what i'm saying? And so all of these things are in one sense the uh, the parts just little reminders of A final judgment that is coming and all of it is building up towards a reality in which sin is going to ultimately one day be dealt with And peter's point is that if god doesn't spare his own people from the overarching judgment of sin

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Which results in pain and suffering and even death here on this planet? How much worse he says will be the outcome for those who have not been saved

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See, there's two categories of people. There are those who have obeyed the gospel the text tells us

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I love that phrase obey the gospel That is we have come to god through the good news good news gospel

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Of the cross of jesus christ And I love the phrase obedience to the gospel. It's a it's a great way of wording it because it's not obedience to the law

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It's not obedience to some internal moral compass It's obedience to good news

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Well think about it for a minute. What is the word news? What is news? It's information

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How do you obey information? You ever thought about that? How do I obey good news?

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All you have to do is believe it How do you obey good news?

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You believe it And you live it There was a time in history where the war was over the peace treaty had been signed

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And there were still skirmishes going on Because the word the good news that the war is over had not spread all the way across europe yet And so there's still battles and skirmishes being fought until finally the the soldiers lay down their arms because they believed

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That the war was indeed Over and they didn't have to fight each other anymore. You obey good news by believing the good news

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But unfortunately, there are some Some people who have not come to god through the good news.

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They have not believed that good news But instead have tried to forge their own news.

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They have tried to Come at god through other pathways through things that they have fashioned or attempted to remedy the problem in their heart

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Peter says if those who have come to god his way still experience suffering and difficulty in insults

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What is going to become of those who oppose god And oppose his way

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It's a terrifying thing It's a terrifying thought to come to the final judgment without christ

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But our sufferings and our insults are for us for the believer the signs of the beginning of glory

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And in this we rejoice Knowing that these are just indications that the final judgment is on the way

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And for those who belong to jesus christ We have experienced as you see here at the end therefore

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Let those who suffer according to god's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good

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I think it's beautiful that peter highlights the two categories in his title of god here in this last verse

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He highlights the two categories of questions that often come to the mind of a suffering individual When we are suffering we often turn to god and question him on two fronts

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God are you good? Are you faithful? Are you still with me?

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Are you being kind right now god? Can I trust you with my life that line of questioning?

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Are you good god? And the questioning can go down another road as well and often goes down both at the same time

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God are you powerful enough to handle my life? Are you powerful enough to overcome this situation this trial this fiery trial that i'm facing right now?

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Are you big enough? And peter here at the end of our text says yes, he is big enough.

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He is faithful And he is creator To entrust your soul to the faithful creator

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Faithful, he will never leave you. He is gracious. He is compassionate He is kind and loving towards those who are his and he is creator.

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He is powerful enough to bring you through Whatever it is that you are facing even though he take you through the shadow of death.

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He will carry you To that place that he has prepared for you

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That is the hope That even death does not have the final word for the follower of jesus christ

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And nothing can take away that inheritance that he has pledged to those who are his But beyond the role of just trusting god and suffering we are told to take one further step in the last couple of words of our text while doing good

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I can tell you that when someone insults me or attacks me for my faith Doing good to them is often not the first thing on my mind

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But if we're truly a people who follow the way of jesus christ, then we will bless those who curse us

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And even love our enemies So, let me highlight a couple of applications

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Stuck to that struck me as I as I went through this text and Three in particular the first if you're taking notes is to be ready for suffering be ready for suffering

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In your heart and mind In your heart and mind prepare yourself now for the trials ahead

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Well, you might say what does that mean? What does that look like does that look like? Keeping my guard up and always, you know, just watching around every corner for where's the trial?

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When's it going to hit? It doesn't mean that you need to live a life. That's morose or dark or sad or emo

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Um, is that do people use that word anymore? I just did I just did um

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I would suggest that preparing yourself for suffering looks quite the opposite of a dark and dour

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Emo perspective It looks like counting your blessings Preparing yourself for suffering looks like counting your blessings rejoicing and laughing laughing often

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Delighting yourself in god and growing in your trust and faith in him

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While time is good Cherish your times in the word cherish your times in prayer

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And most importantly adopt a cross -centered life Reflect often on the great sacrifice that jesus christ undertook for you

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That awesome price that was paid for you on the cross outside of jerusalem. His great love toward you

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Reflect on that Let it roll over your mind Let the cross be there when you wake up in the morning

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Let the cross be there with you throughout the day and then on into your night That that is how much you are valued in the eyes of god that he would sacrifice his son for you

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Let that wash over you in the good times that it might sustain you in the day of the fiery trial

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The one who will handle suffering well for the glory of god Is the one who has been walking with him in joy well before the first waves of trial hit second thing

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Don't be ashamed of the name of jesus but instead glory in that name

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I've often mentioned that talking about god out in our culture in our society is all good But as soon as you mention

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Jesus in a serious way all of a sudden the temperature turns up on the conversation. Have you noticed that? It's okay to talk about spirituality.

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It's okay to talk about god in some general sense, but man mentioned jesus and all of a sudden people get antsy

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And I would suggest to you that it's very easy for us as christians to bail to hit the eject button way before we should in some of those conversations

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Oh the temperature's getting up time to hit the eject button and there we go And often we eject for fear of going down with the plane well, they won't listen to me anymore

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I'll lose a lose a voice. They'll hate me. They'll be my enemies And so i'm just not going to carry this all the way to the end

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And sometimes I think what the very thing that god desires of us is to ride the plane into the ground

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Take it all the way Take it all the way to the point where we are on the line Where we are on the line

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Not not not just scooting when the temperature turns up but in the conversation go ahead and just just go for the gospel

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Just go for it Before I I look Before I look like i've got it all together and I can stand up here and just tell you guys that yeah

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I'll just always go all the way man. Always ride it into the ground man. That would be awesome I would love to be able to say that but let me confess that I don't always get this right

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Just a few weeks ago a man walked into the coffee shop here in matawan I i've seen him from time to time.

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I don't even know his name Uh, we've had just kind of like a passing Hey the weather, you know, the weather looks good out whatever and then he usually sits and reads a magazine while i'm over there studying walked into the coffee shop a few weeks ago and Proceeded to talk to nadine at the coffee shop about having a massive massive heart attack over the holidays

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It's a guy who runs marathons he's he's an older man, but he's ran marathons within the last year and his uh, he's got a history in his family and on and on and He's talking with her and then he goes over and sits down.

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It's just the two of us in the coffee shop and nadine standing over there and As he was walking in I kid you not

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I was getting ready to pack up and head off and it was like I didn't necessarily have another meeting I needed to get to but I was like I I'm getting ready to Go to lunch and and so I had time

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And there's that little nudge And this is this is this is eternity, right? This guy's had a massive heart attack.

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It's hard to tell how long he's gonna last What's what's going on? When's the next one gonna hit or whatever? And so he's obviously already thinking about life a little bit more in depth

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And I think you know where this is going I packed up my stuff and I walked out the door without a word

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And i'm not i'm not happy about that But don't let my failure make you feel better Don't let the fact that your pastor failed in that opportunity

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Make you feel better about yourself, but rather let's together take this on as a call

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A call to care for those who are under the condemnation of god a call to be

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Willing to take the gospel all the way to the end and share it in its fullness and its completeness and in all of its glory

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Letting the chips fall where they may if that man had insulted me or had just put me off or had just You know cast me aside or said i'm never coming to this coffee shop again this religious place or whatever

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Whatever it might have been it wasn't I didn't have anything to lose And then there's some relationships where you go.

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Well, hold on a second. I do have some things to lose And i'd encourage you to think through what you can do in in trying to win those who are lost around you

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I mean, you're not going to win them without the gospel You're not going to win them without the words of talking about jesus christ and his cross and his sacrifice for them

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It's going to take some words and it's going to take carrying a conversation forward Don't be ashamed of the name of jesus, but instead glory in that name and lastly

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Let's recognize that as we encounter suffering within the will of god. Let's entrust our souls to our faithful creator

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While doing good Amen We see in this final application in verse 19 the the basic structure of the christian life trust god

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Do good In that order the order matters. The order is important. The christian life is not do good

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The christian life is first trust god and then by the power that he gives you do good

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Get it But it also equally should not look like trust god

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Without doing good Christian life looks like both of those In that order

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And the cross is so much more than just an example to us It is not merely that jesus showed us how to love our enemies

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It is not merely that jesus suffered well to show us how to suffer well But jesus suffered as a an atonement a covering for our sins

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He appeased the righteous wrath of god towards sin there at the cross So that those who put their hope and trust in his sacrifice might be forgiven and be made righteous

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So as we come to communion this morning and we take a cracker to to To remember his body that was broken for us.

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Be sure to thank jesus For the sacrifice that he made for you as a substitute for you

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And thank jesus for his blood that was shed So that your sins Could be forgiven

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And as we go out into this week be ready for suffering

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Do not be ashamed And entrust yourself to your faithful creator.

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Let's pray Father this is uh, it's a tough calling from this text this morning

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I'm convinced that a lot of the ease that I experience in life is my own doing it's my um efforts to Hedge myself and protect myself and father,

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I pray that you would help us all to take on more of our A role of doing good in our culture and in our society as we trust in you more and more may you give us more and more opportunities to To do kindness

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Father to share the truth with others Father to entrust our souls to you as faithful creator

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And father as we come to communion this morning we have just this this moment Each week of reflecting and remembering the sacrifice of jesus christ for us

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Father, I pray that this would be something that we meditate and contemplate and consider throughout the week of this awesome glorious reality of the

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Amazing love that you showed towards us. We're so unworthy. We don't deserve your forgiveness and you have poured it out on your people