Anchored #11 - "A Grounded View of Suffering" (1 Peter 4:12-19)

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Bibles and I hope you do first Peter and chapter number four. First Peter and chapter number four.
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Hard to believe this is our third from last message in this study as we've been working our way verse by verse through first Peter.
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First Peter chapter four. We're going to be in verses 12 through 19 this afternoon.
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First Peter chapter four verses 12 through 19. If you grabbed one of the red hardback Bibles on your way in that's page 1078.
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First Peter chapter four and verses 12 through 19. If I can invite you to stand with me one more time out of reverence for God's Word as we read it.
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We'll read this text pray and then we will launch into the preaching of God's Word. First Peter chapter four then beginning in verse 12.
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Brothers and sisters once again these are God's words. Dear friends don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
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Instead rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
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If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
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Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a
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Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.
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For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household and if it begins with us what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
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And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty how much or what will excuse me will become of the
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God ungodly and the sinner? So then let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful creator while doing what is good.
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The grass withers the flower fades but this Word of God will abide forever. Join with me as I pray we ask for the
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Spirit's help and then we get to work in God's Word this afternoon. Well Heavenly Father we thank you for your goodness to us.
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We thank you that you are a God who has not chosen to stay silent. You would be perfectly righteous and just if you did.
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And yet in your grace and your mercy you speak to us and you speak to us through your Word. And so Father I would ask that as we open up this passage of your
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Word and explain its meaning and seek to apply it. We pray that as I pray every week you would open our eyes that we would see wonderful things out of your law.
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Pray that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened so that we would know the hope to which you have called us.
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And Father even as we pray that for ourselves we also pray that for our brothers and sisters over at Trinity Presbyterian on the other side of town.
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Thank you for the work that you have done through them, their faithful witness for many years in this town.
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Pray for their new pastor, Pastor Dustin who is settling into life as the minister of that fellowship there.
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Pray that you would bless him, bless the session, the leadership team there. Bless their witness, bless their outreach.
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Father may they know your goodness and your mercy as they seek to honor you.
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And Father that's our prayer even now that we would know your goodness and mercy as you speak to us through your Word. Asking it in Jesus name and for his sake.
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Amen. Please be seated. I've tagged our text for this afternoon,
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A Grounded View of Suffering. A Grounded View of Suffering.
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I don't know about you but I am the type that I like detailed instructions when you give me something to do. If you want me to do something, tell me exactly to the letter what it is you want.
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Don't do the whole, well you should know how to do that. No, I don't know how to do that. So just assume I don't, tell me everything
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I need to know up front. I'm the type that, I know for some of you men this will be an abomination,
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I actually read the instructions when I put things together. I'll actually sit there for a while and read the instructions before I do anything.
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I'm just by nature the type who likes to have clear instructions, particularly when somebody asks me to do something.
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And haven't we all been on the receiving end of that misguided soul who decided to complain to you about tasks that you did that wasn't to their standards when they didn't tell you what their standards were?
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We've all been there, haven't we? Well, oftentimes when those happen, when those moments happen to me, which they don't often, but on the off chance they do,
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I often think to myself, okay well why don't you just save me the hassle and tell me exactly what it is you need.
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Of course the reality is life rarely works that way, does it? Rarely do we actually get detailed instructions for most things we're asked to do.
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People don't work that way and life definitely doesn't work that way. Or does it?
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Think about this with me for a moment. What if God actually gave us principles for how to live?
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What if God took the time from his Word to actually explain to us how we should live? And what if, just again, kind of theorize with me for a moment, what if God didn't just give us principles for how to live, but through his
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Spirit he gave us the power to live in that kind of way?
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And what if not only did he give us principles for how to live, and not only did he give us the
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Holy Spirit who empowers us to be able to live in that kind of way, what if those directives extended even to how we view suffering?
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I mean just what if that were the case? Well actually I believe that that is exactly the case.
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That God who commands us to deal with suffering well, who, 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 3 says, share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, God does not just give us the instruction to share suffering, he also gives us the how of sharing and suffering well.
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And I believe that one of those sections is this text that we are looking at here in 1st Peter chapter 4 beginning in verse 12.
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If I can remind you again where we are in 1st Peter, we are firmly at this point in the final section of this letter.
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And remember I said that there's an introduction, there are three parts, and then there's a conclusion. Well that third part there, the idea of being anchored in the return of the
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Savior, that's where we find ourselves as we come to 1st
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Peter and chapter number 4 and verse 12. Each section in this final part deals with some aspects of living in the light of Christ's return.
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It really piques us onto the question of how the hope of the second coming and the hope of God's kingdom that is still coming, how that gives us perspective and gives us hope in the face of the challenges that we face as the people of God.
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In our last message we were in chapter 4 from verse 7 through to 11, well verse 1 to 11 excuse me, and we saw the need for proper perspective as we think about suffering.
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How it is that we can't just say, okay well life has suffering in it, I'm just gonna you know make my way through it, you know kind of grit my teeth and make my way.
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No, God wants us to have a proper perspective, a perspective on ourselves and a perspective on who we are as his people.
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And so actually Peter's, as you've been following, those of you who've been here, Peter's been talking about suffering all the way back in chapter 1 and as we close out chapter 4,
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Peter's gonna kind of leave that behind a little bit. He's got some concluding thoughts he wants to say in chapter 5, but really chapter 4 closes out this intense focus on suffering that Peter has had throughout this letter.
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And for much of this letter you've probably picked up on the fact that Peter's focus has been mostly on our outward facing response to trials.
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So our witness as it were, both as individuals and as a body of God's people, how we carry ourselves in the midst of a watching world.
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But with this final section, Peter as it were, turns a corner a little bit. And the focus goes from our outward witness to really our inward disposition.
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How we internally handle trials and how we handle unjust suffering.
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You see, beloved, God is not concerned with us just, as it were, outwardly doing the right thing.
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He desires to deal with us on the level of our hearts and our affections as well.
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But if that is true, that raises a question, doesn't it? If God is indeed concerned with us not just doing the outwardly right thing, but dealing with our hearts as well, well what should the internal attitude of Christians be when it comes to trials and sufferings?
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How should we carry ourselves internally when it comes to those? Well, faith, here's my big idea for today.
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Simply put, the Christian should seek to receive suffering as God's gift for their growth and godliness.
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Simple enough. The Christian should seek to receive suffering, to welcome suffering, as God's gift for their growth and godliness.
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Rather than viewing our sufferings as a sort of imposition, whether it be by the world or by the devil, no, we should actually view our sufferings as, wait a minute, this is something that God is sending my way.
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That God in his fatherly providence is directing towards me for my own growth in godliness.
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For the remainder of our time, I want to look at four concluding directives. Like I said, Peter is wrapping up this whole idea of suffering, or his thoughts on this.
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Well, Peter's going to give us four concluding directives for receiving the gift of suffering.
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If you're going to receive the gift of suffering well, if you're going to have a grounded view of suffering, well,
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Peter has four directives for us that will be pretty helpful. Four directives, I don't want to be before you long today, so I'll get straight to work.
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The first of them is this, you need to be prepared for suffering. If you're going to have a grounded view of suffering, you need to be prepared for suffering, verse 12.
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So look at verse 12 with me, Peter says, dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
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If you're going to have a correct view of suffering, you need to start with being prepared for it. See, suffering is not a question of if, it's a question of when.
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I think I've said this already in this series, but if not, allow me to say it now. It's been said that all believers are either going into a trial, they are in a trial, on their way out of one, preparing for the next one.
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I don't mean to be an EO when I say that, I don't mean to be sort of Debbie Downer when I say that, it's just the reality of what the
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Bible says. That for all of us as God's people, the road to glory is not paved with ease.
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So Peter calls us to be prepared, not for if suffering comes, but for when suffering comes.
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The word for surprise here is an interesting one, it carries this idea of receiving someone or something like a visitor, like a stranger.
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Read that with this in mind, when I was translating this this week, I wrote it out like this. Dear friends, don't treat it like a stranger coming round when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you.
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If there's one group of people who should not be surprised by the presence of suffering, it should be
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Christians. That's not to say that that makes it easier for Christians than everyone else, but at least we know it's coming.
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After all, Jesus told us that suffering would come. For those of you taking notes, Mark chapter 10 verses 28 to 30, you remember that story?
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Peter is, as usual, being the loudmouthed spokesman of the group, comes up to Jesus and says, listen,
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Jesus, we left everything to follow you. We were businessmen. The text seems to imply successful businessmen.
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We were businessmen. We left our fishing business to come follow you. What are we getting in return?
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Again, thinking like a businessman. We invested our very lives. What are we getting? What's the ROI here? What's the return on our investment?
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Remember what Jesus said? Jesus said, Mark 10 29, truly I say to you, there is no one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more, now at this time, houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children and fields, with persecutions and eternal life in the age to come.
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Literally, Jesus puts persecution as one of the things you receive for following him.
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John 16 33, as Jesus is getting ready to lead the disciples, he says, listen,
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I've told you everything I've told you in chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16. I've told you all of these things so that you may have peace.
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You will have suffering in this world. But Jesus also tells them, be courageous,
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I have conquered the world. So Jesus told us that suffering would come.
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The Apostles taught that suffering would come for the Christian. I've already quoted this in this series. Acts 14 22, the
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Apostles are going around planting churches, they double back, visit all these churches they've planted and they teach them that it is necessary,
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Acts 14 22, to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
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Not only did they teach this, they knew this by experience. Keep something in first piece, I want you to see this one. First Thessalonians chapter 3.
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First Thessalonians and chapter 3. I will be a hundred percent honest with you,
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I read this one this week and I did kind of laugh for a second because of the way that Paul says this. Not so much of his suffering, just the way he says this.
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First Thessalonians, that's beginning chapter 3 and verse 1. Paul says, therefore when we could no longer stand it, we thought it better to be left alone in Athens.
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And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's co -worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith, so that no one will be shaken by these afflictions.
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For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.
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There's no surprise to Paul and his associates. No, we know what we've signed up for.
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Here's the part that got me, verse 4. In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to experience affliction.
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And as you know, it happened. Paul, as it were, kind of says, what did we tell you?
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We were gonna suffer. And then what happened? What we told you. It was no surprise to him.
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And you kind of get the sense of shock on his part that the Thessalonians are surprised. Like, we told you this was going to happen.
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I mean, think about it with me for a moment. We read Jesus' words to his disciples. Jesus couldn't have been more righteous.
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And listen to what Jesus said about himself. John chapter 15 and verse 20.
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Remember the word I spoke to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
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If they kept my word, and the implication is they didn't, they will also keep yours.
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Often I have to remind myself as a second -generation, 21st century Christian, that suffering is almost the resting heart rate of God's people in a fallen world.
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That suffering isn't something that we should be surprised by, almost like a random person like making a beeline for our front door.
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No, this is what we signed up for when we became believers. Peter describes trials in the life of the
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Christians. You see it there in, if you go back to 1 Peter, verse 12, he describes it as the fiery ordeal.
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I think Peter is personally pulling something of a dual meaning here. You see, generally speaking, all suffering feels like being in a furnace.
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It feels like being in the fire. We all understand that, generally speaking. But I also think
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Peter is speaking to his audience very particularly. Those of you who were here in week one of this series, do you remember when we looked at the background of 1
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Peter and we talked about Nero burning Rome and blaming the Christians? Remember he's writing this just before that happens?
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I think a good case can be made that Peter is speaking to his audience under the inspiration of the
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Spirit and he is preparing them for the, this is really the beginning of empire -wide persecution of Christians.
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Up to this point, it's been kind of localized, but it's not empire -wide. Now it's about to go empire -wide.
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And he says, listen, a fiery trial is coming upon all of you. Prepare accordingly.
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If I can pause for a moment before I move on in our message. Can I put it to you that if you prepare for a test when the test comes, it might just be a little too late to prepare?
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If you only prepare for trials when trials come, don't be surprised, no pun intended, don't be surprised when they happen.
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In fact, Peter tells them not to be surprised. He says, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
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And yet, can I be honest with my own self in front of you for a moment? I often fail at recognizing that reality as much as anyone.
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They knock me off course, but like most things in life, the preparation that you put in pays off in the long run.
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It's better to be prepared for when trials come than to wait for when the trials actually arrive.
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For example, here at Redeemer, we're going to be having a Redeemer U class, I believe it's in November, looking at surprised by suffering.
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You may think, okay, I'm not going through a trial. Well, you might not be, but like I said, you're either going into one, in one, or out of one preparing for the next one.
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And you might want to be prepared beforehand. Kofi, I can't make that. No worries, this week's study guide, I put a ton of resources in there dealing with that very subject.
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You see, Faith Family, as the days get darker, I am convinced, and I've been thinking about this for the last couple of years,
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I am increasingly convinced that believers need to be students of quite a few things, actually.
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One of which is how to suffer well for the cause of Christ.
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Those of you who know me know that it's no secret I believe that the Puritans were the, in my opinion, the single greatest generation of Christians to have ever walked the earth.
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And it's fascinating, when you read their writings, they penned book after book after book, preparing their people to suffer well.
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Thomas Boston writes a book called The Crook in the Lot. Essentially, the crook being the sort of bend in the lot, the idea that when something happens that you're not planned for, that you've not planned for, how do you prepare to deal with that situation?
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Thomas Watson, my favorite Puritan, wrote a book called All Things for Good. Original title was A Divine Cordial. The idea was giving believers something sweet to help them in the midst of trials.
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This was a common theme in their writing, and I think it's fascinating that whereas they would dig deeper into God's Word when they went through trials, what do we typically do?
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We post Instagram memes and blather on about coping mechanisms. I don't mean to sound dismal, and it's not my aim to, as it were, paint dark clouds where there is no need to do so, but I do want to honor
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Peter's directive here. And I do want us to be thinking, brothers and sisters, about how it is that we, how it is that I, how it is that you prepare for suffering.
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Because suffering will come. The only question is, are you prepared for it or are you not? So that's the first directive we see here, that Peter wants us to be prepared for suffering.
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But there's a second directive that appears in our text. So we should be prepared for suffering. Secondly, we ought to rejoice in the meaning of suffering.
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We ought to rejoice in the meaning of suffering. Verses 13 and 14. So Peter says, instead, rather than being surprised as if something unusual happening to you, instead of that, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
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If you are ridiculed, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
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Rather than shock when we experience suffering, Peter calls us to view the presence of trials and suffering with joy.
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Now, as with so much of what Peter says, Peter's not really original, and that's a good thing. He's not original in this sense.
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He's simply saying the same thing that other writers say throughout the Bible. Listen to this from the book of James, James chapter 1 verses 2 through 4.
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James says, some of your Bibles will say, count it all joy, consider it a great joy.
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My brothers and sisters, when you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
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This is a common theme in the apostolic teaching, that we as believers rejoice in what suffering means.
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Now, please note, I was quick to say rejoice in the meaning of suffering, because sometimes we get this very weird idea that you're supposed to rejoice because you're suffering.
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That's not what the Bible says, if you pay attention. The Bible, every time it mentions rejoicing in the context of suffering, it's because suffering is doing something.
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It's meaningful. So Peter, coming back to 1
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Peter, doesn't say rejoice because you are suffering with Christ. No, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
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It's important to say that, because at times Christians can develop this almost weird spiritual
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Pollyanna type behavior. You've probably encountered it, where you're not allowed to be upset, you're not allowed to be hurt by trials, you're not allowed to grieve trials, you're supposed to, you've some of you laugh because you've seen it firsthand.
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You know, don't be honest about how you're feeling, never mind the Bible tells you not to bear false witness. No, don't be honest about how you, just smile your way through it.
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You know, we kind of do the spiritual equivalent, what's the lyric from the song? Put all your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.
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Mmm, sorry, that's not actually what the Bible says. No, you see, Christians are not weird.
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I mean, we are weird in lots of ways, but we're not weird in the sense that we almost take relishing in suffering coming.
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No, we don't rejoice because of suffering, we rejoice in what suffering means. Again, look at the verse again, verse 13.
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Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
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That's why we rejoice, because as we share in Christ's sufferings, we also know that on the other side of this, remember
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I said in week one, suffering and glory are paired together in this letter, time and time and time again, one more time here.
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If you're enduring the suffering, Peter's implication is you'll also enjoy when the glory is revealed.
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This whole idea of sharing in Christ's sufferings, it's a wonderful idea, this reality that we share in Christ's suffering, because just like Christ suffered for righteousness sake, yes, we're not suffering to save anybody, but we are suffering because of righteousness.
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We share in Christ's sufferings as those who represent him to a hostile world.
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We share in his sufferings because we experience the same results that he endured, rejection and ostracism, and in some cases, just like it did for Jesus, it cost him his very life.
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And we rejoice in sharing Christ's sufferings because Christ identifies with his people when they suffer.
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And no wonder if we understand the meaning of suffering that Peter can say we should rejoice,
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James can say we consider it, we count it a great joy.
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And let's be clear, it's okay to actually be grieving in the midst of suffering. Now, if you choose to argue with me and say, no,
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Christians should never be grieving when they suffer, okay, well, take it up with Paul. If you're taking notes, 2
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Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 through 11, Paul tells his own story and says, listen, we went through such a trial, all the way that Paul puts it, he says, we went through such a trial that we despaired of life itself.
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Doesn't quite strike me as a man who's singing songs and doing great at that moment, but here's the thing for the
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Christian, while we experience grief because of sufferings, that's not where we end. You see, with our physical eye, we might see suffering, but here's the beautiful thing for the
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Christian, with the eye of faith, we can surpass the suffering and can look to the reward that Jesus has won for us.
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We can see the glory that's awaiting us in the very presence of God. And that has effects for us in the here and now.
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So verse 14, he says that we should rejoice when we're ridiculed for the name of Christ.
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In fact, he says that you are blessed, you are privileged. There's a lot of talk about privilege nowadays.
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This is the kind of privilege you should be happy about. He says we're privileged because suffering is a sign that the spirit of glory, the glory that we are awaiting in the future, and the spirit of God, the spirit of God who is the glorious one, that he resides with us.
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That the spirit who is himself God's glory and who is himself God, that he makes his home in the believer, and that rises to the fore especially when we are in the moment of trial.
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And Christian, that should comfort you. It should comfort you because no suffering, please hear me on this, no suffering that's a believer endures is meaningless.
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No pain that we endure for the cause of Christ is wasted. And I'll put it to you that understanding this is vital for us if we're going to navigate suffering well.
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And if that's the case, this is a directive that we cannot afford to ignore. Peter calls you to be prepared for suffering.
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He calls you to rejoice in the meaning of suffering. But there's a third directive that Peter calls you to in our text, a third directive, and it's this.
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Examine yourself through the lens of suffering. Examine yourself through the lens of suffering, verses 15 through 18.
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So listen to what Peter says, verse 15. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler, but if anyone suffers as a
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Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in having that name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
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And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
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You see, when trials come, one of the realities that they afford to us is the opportunity for some honest self -examination.
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Some of you know one of my favorite preachers in the world is Dr. Joel Beakey. He passes out in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr.
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Beakey has been given blessed ministries, been able to travel around the world into a number of different cultures, and Dr.
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Beakey tells a story of visiting a pastor, I believe it was in the former Soviet Union, and asked this pastor who he was getting to know and taking a fondness to him, and at one point this
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Russian pastor turns to Dr. Beakey, this Dutch -American, and says, we in Russia, we are scared for the church in the
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West. Remember who's saying this? A pastor from the former
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Soviet Union. If you know anything about the state of Christianity during the Soviet era, it was not great.
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This pastor had lived through some things, and now here he is on the other side of that.
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There's religious freedom, and he says he's worried for the church in the West, and Dr.
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Beakey, being curious, said, why, what makes you worried for the church in the West? And this
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Russian pastor got quiet, Dr. Beakey tells a story, and he says,
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I worry for you, because in your churches you're comfortable, and no one has to examine themselves, because life is easy.
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And Dr. Beakey tells this story, and you can almost hear the pain in his voice when he says it. He says, I had nothing to argue with this pastor with, because he was right.
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There's a reality that when we experience suffering as God's people, one of the things it does is it causes us to take stock of what is really important.
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Verse 15 is pretty straightforward for the most part. Peter's point is very simple. If you're a Christian, if you bear the name of Jesus, well, and you find yourself suffering, it really shouldn't be because you're identified as a murderer, as a thief, as an evildoer.
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Now we read the first three of those, and those make sense to us. Of course, if a Christian is caught in the act of murder, and they're punished by the state, that's not suffering.
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You brought that on your own head. Same if you're a thief, same if you're an evildoer. I want to draw your attention to the fourth one in that list.
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See that there, verse 15? Some of your translations will say a meddler, a busybody. This is actually a really hard word to get the definition of.
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Only appears one time in the Bible, here, and in fact, in all of the literature we have from ancient
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Greek, it only appears one other time. That really doesn't help when you're trying to find a definition of this word.
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One dictionary defines it as one who meddles in things that do not concern a person.
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Any New American Standard users in the room today? New American Standard users, it adds the word troublesome there.
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There's an older translation called Young's Literal Translation. It translates this as an inspector into other men's matters.
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I actually like the New Living Translation as more dynamic equivalents go. Here's how the
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New Living Translation puts this, prying into other people's affairs. The only time this word appears, but this concept appears over and over and over again if you read your
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New Testament. First Thessalonians chapter 4, from verse 10 through 12. The Thessalonians in a lot of ways are the model church.
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Paul really doesn't have anything bad to say about them. He says this, First Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 10 through 12.
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In fact, you are doing this, in other words showing generosity and caring for one another, towards all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia.
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But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more. Well, what does he want them to do even more?
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To seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, the
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Christian Standard Bible says. Some of the other translations say mind your own affairs, it's the same word, same idea.
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And to work with your own hands as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.
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Apparently, they didn't get the message when Paul said that the first time. Because in Second Thessalonians chapter 3,
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Paul says this, Second Thessalonians 3, 11 and 12. For we hear that some among you, hear that there are some among you who are idle.
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That's one of my favorite Greek words, literally means they're out of order. That there's a way that they're supposed to carry themselves and they're acting way out of line of that.
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For we hear that there are some among you who are idle, they're out of order, but busy bodies.
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Now this one, some of you say it's not that big a deal Paul, come on. But look what Paul says in verse 12,
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Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus to work quietly and provide for themselves. If you've been in church for any length of time, you know exactly what this looks like.
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I grew up in a pastor's home. My dad pastored one, two, three churches.
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Saw it firsthand. You all know the type. Always find a way to be in people's business when they have no business being in people's business.
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They're the type who know everything, even things they really shouldn't know. My mom, some of you met her when she was here.
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She calls them the CBS, not the network you guys have here. The CBS, the church broadcasting system.
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They're the ones who, if you want to know what the word on the ground is, go to them. They know everything. People who clearly have nothing to do with their own time, so they insert themselves into every situation wanting to be involved.
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And typically for most of us, what do we do? We kind of roll our eyes and think, that's annoying, but whatever. But turn back to first Peter with me for a moment, because there's something
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Peter says here that should give you pause. Did you catch in verse 12 that Peter says, somebody who is a meddler.
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I didn't say it. Someone said it called Peter. Peter says that if you are a meddler, someone who is always in other people's affairs, that you are equal with the murderer, the thief, and the evildoer.
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Again, I didn't say it. Peter says it. Of course we read that and the question becomes, well why?
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I mean being a little nosy is annoying, but it's not as bad as murdering someone, is it?
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I mean, it's hardly robbing a bank. I mean yeah, it's a little out of order, but sheesh, can we tone this down a little bit?
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That's a bit much. Well actually, Peter would have us to understand that all of those sins are affronts to God.
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The one to whom everything is a big deal and rightfully so. And what's the thing that connects all four of those things?
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They are sins that are disruptive to society in general. Think about this.
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A murderer is killing people. He's ending lives and he has no right to end. The thief is taking that which doesn't belong to him.
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Theft is not a victimless crime. The person you stole from, trust me, they feel the effects of that.
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Being a general evildoer, doing that which is displeasing in the sight of others, I mean that's generally not a good thing.
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And meddling in other people's affairs, that's not a good thing either. Listen to this from John MacArthur in his commentary.
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On this verse he says this, if they step outside the faith, the people he's referring to here, and bring trouble, hostility, resentment, or persecution on themselves, they have no more right to expect
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Holy Spirit relief than if they were murderers. That Peter includes this word in his list of sins may mean that some disciples, in their zeal for the truth and resentment of paganism, were causing trouble in society for reasons beyond a sincere and legitimate concern for the gospel.
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And Peter says to all of those groups, even the one we think might be a little bit minor, that's the kind of behavior that doesn't merit the favor of God.
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But what if your crime isn't killing someone? What if you aren't taking that which doesn't belong to you?
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What if you aren't doing that which is evil? What if you are actually minding your business and not being a nuisance?
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What if your crime is simply being a Christian? By the way, we use the term
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Christian today, and you know, I think it's becoming this again, but for a very long time, being a
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Christian was okay, great, there was no big deal. In the ancient world, however, that term
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Christian was an insult. It's an English translation of a Greek word, christianos, little Christs, and that wasn't in a good way.
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Like, oh look at them little Christians following their little Jesus. Being a
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Christian was an insult in the ancient world. But Peter does something, we talk a lot these days about cultural appropriation.
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Well, Peter does a little bit of cultural appropriation here, because he says, listen, if you're suffering for being a little
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Jesus, don't be ashamed, verse 16, but glorify God in having that name.
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Clearly, they're seeing something in you which harks back to this one Jesus that they don't like, but they can't deny that they see him in you.
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So don't be ashamed because you have that name, but glorify God because they call you that.
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Think about it. They want to glorify God because even a depraved world could see enough
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Jesus in them to mistreat them for it, and that again raises this issue of self -examination with God's people.
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Verse 17, for the time has come, Peter says, verse 17, for judgment to begin with God's household.
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The judgment here isn't a judgment of condemnation. This isn't the final judgment. No, this is the sort of, again, this is why
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I use this word self -examine. This is the kind of examination that happens within God's people as we examine ourselves in our lives, not by the metric of others, not by the metric of a rulebook, but by the light of the gospel.
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And again, I ask, isn't it generally true that when things are easy and comfortable, we don't generally take stock the way we should?
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I mean, this is just true of us in life in general. I don't worry about my car until my car stops working. I kind of have the entitlement,
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I walk into my car, my car has one of those push -button things, I push the button and it starts. I don't worry about my health until I'm perennially sick.
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And, I mean, there's a sense in which that's perfectly fine. We have the saying, you know, you don't borrow trouble where there isn't any.
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Well, yeah, that's true. But when things are shaken up, when trials come, we're often faced with one of two options.
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Either we fall, excuse me, into feeling sorry for ourselves, or we're like, okay, hard times have come, alright folks, grab a shovel, we gotta start digging ourselves out of this hole.
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I think Peter is saying, before you jump to any of those, neither of those are, well, feeling sorry for yourself might not be the most helpful, but before you kind of jump to the solution,
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Peter's essentially saying, take a moment, pause and take stock. Is this thing
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I'm experiencing drawing me closer to the Lord? Is this driving me to my knees in earnest prayer?
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Am I making a point as a result of what I'm going through, to gather with God's people at every opportunity that is offered to us?
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Am I taking advantage of every resource that the
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Spirit of God gives me as one of God's children? Am I feasting on the word like a hungry man finding food in the desert?
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Faith family, please hear me, hear me, hear me. My aim is not to shame or to guilt anyone.
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Shame and guilt are not great motivations for the Christian life. I'm saying these things because I want us when we encounter suffering, even in the midst of suffering, to find joy in the
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Lord. We have a glorious hope, brother and sister, waiting for us, and that glorious hope ought to fuel us to be deliberate in the face of trials.
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We have a hope, but what about those who don't know the Lord? Verse 17, and if it begins with us, the judgment, if the judgment begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
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In verse 18, Peter cites from Proverbs 11 31 to show that while things can and do get tough for the believer, as difficult as life is,
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I believe it was John MacArthur who said, if you're a Christian, this life is as bad as it gets, and if you're not a
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Christian, this life is as good as it gets. That for the one who isn't a believer, there is nothing that compares to the fate awaiting those who reject the good news of salvation in Jesus.
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You see, for the unbeliever, the judgment that comes will be for their destruction, but can
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I give you some confidence, Christian? Here's what Paul says about when judgment comes, not for the unbeliever, but for the believer.
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1 Corinthians chapter 11, 31 and 32. Paul says this, if we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the
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Lord, we are disciplined, not destroyed, we're disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
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For God's children, the trials that come and the sufferings that come refine and they purify us, so that we can better honor the
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Lord and be faithful witnesses for the one who has graciously saved us and the one who continues to sanctify us.
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As we see the glorious day of Jesus's return drawing closer and closer, we can have confidence.
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You see, far from being afraid, the knowledge that the Spirit resides in us, the knowledge that the judgment of God has been laid on Christ for us, all of this, if we understand it properly, should lead us to joyful, gratitude -based self -examination.
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Peter's called you and I to be prepared for suffering, to rejoice in the meaning of suffering, to examine ourselves through the lens of suffering.
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One last directive and I'll be done. One last one. Bring you through suffering.
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Rely on God to bring you through suffering. In light of all that Peter has had to say in the face of suffering in our text, our final directive really sums up what our response should be.
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So verse 19, so then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
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I think it's fascinating that Peter says that those who suffer, suffer according to God's will, that the suffering that we endure is not an accident.
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This is how it's supposed to be. He's already said this, 1
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Peter 3 verse 17, that if we are to suffer, it's better to suffer for doing good if that's God's will and if there is if and it is.
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Since it's true, since it's true that we suffer according to God's will, we who suffer in line with God's will, here's what
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Peter tells us to do. Take your life, as precious as it is, as wonderful as it is, that life and he literally says that we are to give it for the safekeeping to God.
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That's what this word entrust means. It's the idea of giving something of value to another person for the purpose of keeping it safe and secure.
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Remember what Jesus said, if you hold on to your life, you'll lose it, but if you lose your life, you will gain it.
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The implication being, give that over to God, entrust yourself to God. God, I know that I'm going through a trial right now,
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I know that I'm struggling, I know this is difficult, but I am commending myself to you.
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I'm entrusting myself to you. And if this language sounds familiar, remember back in first Peter chapter 2,
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Jesus himself, the Bible says, first Peter 2 23, when he suffered he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
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Jesus on the cross entrusted his soul to the
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Father and we who are united to him, who have died a death like his,
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Romans chapter 6, we are called to do the same. And I'll leave you with this though, we don't do this to a
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God who can't keep us. We don't do this to a God who can't look after his children.
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We're not entrusting our lives to a God who will lose them. This God is, do you catch how
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Peter describes him there in verse 19? He calls him a faithful creator. He's both dependable and powerful.
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And Christian, do you need proof of that dependability and proof of that power? Can I suggest you look at the cross?
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Every time you're tempted in the face of trials and think, God where are you? Look at the cross.
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Because every time we look at the cross, we are freshly reminded of the fact that there was a man who was perfect, who had never sinned, who endured the epitome of unjust suffering, and that man on the cross entrusted himself to God.
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Remember, we read it every Easter time. Father, into your hands I entrust, it's the same word,
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I entrust my spirit. And three days later, the spirit that had been disunited from the body and death, reunited.
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And that man who suffered rose up from the grave. Our suffering may not take us to the grave.
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It might, it might not. But even if it did, God's got us.
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God has got us. And Father, we are so grateful for the fact that you indeed have us as your people. That as those who go through sufferings and trials in this world, that never is the end for us.
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That far from being the end, it's only the beginning. That even if the trial that we are in should end with us going to be with you, we have assurance, not because of us, but because of Jesus and what he's done, that we'll see you on the other side.
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And that one day, the body that lies in the grave, or the body that awaits the return of Jesus, will be glorified.
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That we will have a resurrection body just like his. Father, I pray that these directives we've thought about would fortify us and prepare us and gird up our souls for the presence of trials.