A Great Conflict of Suffering – Hebrews 10:32-34 | Adult Sunday School

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August 2, 2021

Thank you for joining us this Sunday to Worship Jesus Christ our King. This and previous sermons are available at https://www.youtube.com/kootenaichurch

05:16: In Christ Jesus, we'll be made, we'll be made whole.
05:34: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
05:45: Come Lord Jesus, come and take your people.
05:53: Every tongue will praise
06:10: Him, every knee will bow when we see our
06:20: Savior. Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
06:45: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
07:13: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan. Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
07:33: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
07:45: Jesus will satisfy our soul.
07:57: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan.
08:08: Come Lord Jesus, listen to creation groan. Though the dark is overwhelming and the brightest lights grow dim, though the word of God is trampled on by foolish men, though the wicked never stumble and abound in every place, we will all be humble when we see your face.
09:28: And the demons we've been fighting, those without and those within, will be underneath our feet to never rise again.
09:43: All our sins will be behind us through the blood of Christ erased, and we'll taste your kindness when we see your face.
10:07: We will see all the waiting will be over.
10:46: Every sorrow will be healed. All the dreams that seemed could never be will all be real.
10:57: And you'll gather us together in your arms of endless grace as your bride forever when we see your face.
11:21: We will sing. We will sing.
12:25: And you'll gather us together in your arms of endless grace as your bride forever when we see your face.
14:08: Who is like you, Father, the source of life and love, an overflowing fountain in spirit and the
14:29: Son? Holy is your name.
14:44: Reign and receive our praise.
14:58: Who is like you, Jesus, the
15:05: Son most glorious, the fullness of the
15:13: Godhead who came and fleshed for us?
15:23: Savior, Lord Jesus, hallowed be your prison.
15:35: Now in powerful sin you slay.
15:56: Who is like you, Spirit, our comfort from above?
16:07: You draw us to the Savior.
16:12: Good morning. Good morning. Whoa. We are hot.
16:22: Welcome to Adult Sunday School, Kootenai Community Church. We will finish
16:28: Lord Willing and the Cricks Don't Rise. Well, with this weather, the cricks ain't rising. We will finish
16:35: Daniel chapter 6 today. And then I believe next week we will start into the book of Haggai.
16:41: Where's Jeff? Yeah. Next week we'll start into the book of Haggai.
16:46: I kept saying Habakkuk, but it's just the other H guy. Let's open in prayer.
16:54: Father, we're grateful this morning for the opportunity to look into your blessed word. From it we find life and godliness and the way to praise and honor your
17:06: Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we look for your teaching and illumination this morning in the book of Daniel.
17:13: We also cry out to you, Lord, for protection and safety for those fighting these fires and for the homes in harm's way.
17:18: We just pray that, Lord, that you would bring relief. Rain today would be great. We would ask for that,
17:24: Lord. And we thank you that you are sovereign over all and that none of this has escaped your sight and that you will do that which is necessary to bring glory to your name.
17:33: And we want to be partakers of that glory. Not in the glory ourselves, but in bringing it to you.
17:39: So give us wisdom this morning as we look into your word, into ways that we can honor and lift up Christ in the world today who so sorely needs him.
17:47: We ask in Jesus' name, amen. So we're going to start in Daniel chapter 6.
17:57: We finished up with verse 22 last week. We'll read 16 through the end of the chapter. Daniel chapter 6, verse 16 through the end of the chapter.
18:06: Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lion's den. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you.
18:16: And a stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nose, so that nothing might be changed in regard to Daniel.
18:25: Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.
18:32: Then the king arose with the dawn at the break of day and went in haste to the lion's den.
18:37: And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living
18:44: God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions? Then Daniel spoke to the king,
18:50: O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me.
18:57: Inasmuch as I was found innocent before him, and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime. Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den.
19:06: And so Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him because he had trusted in his
19:11: God. The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lion's den.
19:19: And they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them all, and overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
19:25: Then Darius, the king, wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language, who were living in all the land, may your peace abound.
19:32: I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the
19:38: God of Daniel, for he is the living God and enduring forever, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and his dominion will be forever.
19:46: He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered
19:52: Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the
19:59: Persian. So last week, we finished up with verse 22, where God sent the angel and shut the mouths of the lions.
20:09: Remember, he didn't remove the lions, he didn't kill the lions. Just like with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he didn't put the fire out.
20:16: He carried them through the fire. And in this particular case, he carried Daniel through his encounter with the lions.
20:23: Now I don't know what it must have been like that night, having a bunch of big North African lions surrounding you and not doing anything, purring like kitty cats probably.
20:35: I can't imagine. It must have been an amazing thing. And like we have talked about earlier when we were first introducing this chapter, this is probably one of the most famous stories in the
20:48: Bible. And so not much new can be gleaned from it. But who's to say that what
20:54: God hasn't already taught us isn't just as valuable, just as important today as it was when we first heard it when we were kids.
21:02: So always remember that. You know, everything that can be extracted from the Scriptures hasn't been extracted in our day.
21:09: But over the last 2 ,000 years, Ecclesiastes reigns true. There's nothing new under the sun. God taught his people in 200
21:17: A .D. and he teaches his people in 21, whatever this is, 2100.
21:24: Yeah, I'm 100 years off. 2021 A .D. In this story of Daniel and the lion's den, there is so much to be learned every day by his people about the sovereignty of God, about his care of his people, and about his own ability to make sovereign choices about how he will take care of his people.
21:46: He will always take care of you. It may not be exactly what you think he ought to do in the day that it happens.
21:53: But later on in glory, we will praise him. It was the most effective thing to do for the glory of God.
22:00: And I am so grateful you did it. Might not feel good in the day. When I was 12 and I was being smacked around for, well,
22:08: I won't say what I did, but for things that I deserve being smacked around, I didn't like it at the time.
22:14: But when I look back, I think, you know, I'm grateful that my parents took the time to make me understand the difference between what was right and what was wrong.
22:21: And they did their best. As the scripture says, fathers discipline us.
22:27: Well, Jim will be getting to that, so I don't want to be stealing his thunder. But sometime we're going to talk about fathers disciplining. Somewhere in a book named with another
22:33: H that I heard about. So, back in verse 22, he says,
22:40: My God has sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths and they have not harmed me in so much as I was found innocent before him and also toward you,
22:47: O king, I have committed no crime. Then we move to verse 23. Oh, I did want to correct something that someone brought to my attention last week.
22:54: I talked about some of the similarities about the difficulty of traveling so far and getting news from different parts of the nation.
23:02: And we talked about the fact that even though the scripture, how the scripture words that all the satraps and governors were involved, it's likely that it was the, they were talking about the main conspirators because it would be very difficult to gather people from, you know, a thousand miles away.
23:21: And I made an allusion to the war of the War of Independence. When, when, and I talked about the date of being 1815, 1800, in the 1800s, where, and then
23:33: I, let me back up. I talked about the 1800s and the fact that the battle of New Orleans was fought.
23:40: And I was, I was told to pronounce it correctly. It's not New Orleans. It's Narlins. It's Narlins.
23:47: Norfolk, Virginia. Narlins. So I'm working on my southern pronunciation, y 'all. All y 'all.
23:53: All y 'all. I had grits this morning. So it was the battle of Narlins, and it was fought
24:01: January of 1815, and that was the second war for independence, not the one in the 1700s.
24:09: I had my dates all, who caught that besides the one young fellow? Oh, I'm so grateful. Why is he even up there, you're saying?
24:18: At any rate, I wanted to correct that. It was the second war for independence that was fought when the British burned down the capital.
24:24: Okay, back to Daniel, which is far more important. Verse 23. Then the king was very pleased.
24:32: Why was he pleased? Because Daniel was alive. And he gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den.
24:37: So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him because he had trusted in his
24:44: God. It's important to, every word of scripture is valuable. And for our thought, for our instruction, for our correction, for our reproof, so that we might be, do the works of God.
24:58: No injury whatever. Imagine what I just said earlier, spending a night in a den full of African lions.
25:05: This just doesn't happen. People don't come out of those places in one piece. Actually, they come out, well,
25:12: I'll just leave that alone. I won't get gross. Finding Daniel alive, the king has him taken up out of the pen, probably through the air supply hole.
25:19: He did not want to disturb the stone that was laid over the mouth of the den and sealed with his and his nobles' rings.
25:26: The conniving nobles would have no occasion to accuse the king of breaking the seal in the night and letting
25:31: Daniel out. Everyone had to know that this upset the king. They knew it upset him because they kept reminding him of the laws of the
25:39: Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked. And he knew that. He was the king.
25:46: There were no injuries on Daniel at all, at all. This implies that the lions were completely subdued.
25:53: Their mouths were closed. Their paws were not allowed to touch him. It made the miracle all the more incredible.
25:59: Not only were they not able to eat him, but they were unable to claw or even bump into him.
26:04: Now, I'm extrapolating, and this is me extrapolating. Be aware of that. It doesn't say that they weren't able to bump into him.
26:10: But I'm thinking that he came out of there that night completely unmolested.
26:16: It's what the scripture said. That is even more amazing than just not eaten, not ate, as they say in the south.
26:25: Then the king gave orders, verse 24, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children, their wives, into the lion's den.
26:33: And they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
26:39: In a horrible demonstration of unbiblical punishment, the king has the men who conspired and all of their families killed.
26:47: Scripture, did you know, prevents this kind of over -the -top vengeance, over -the -top retribution.
26:54: Deuteronomy 24, 16. Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers.
27:02: Everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. You don't pay for the sins of those around you.
27:08: Aren't you glad? Now, here in this world, we often suffer the consequences of those around us who sin, but we don't pay for those sins.
27:19: Ancient rulers would murder entire families so that disgruntled survivors would not seek to kill them later.
27:26: Israel had actually abandoned this scriptural injunction numerous times and taken up pagan methodology for dealing with bad actors.
27:35: In Judges 9, Abimelech murdered his brothers to prevent this kind of thing.
27:41: In 2 Kings 11, Queen Athaliah murders much of the Davidic line. God spared the
27:47: Davidic line, but she tried. She did her best to kill them all. And in 2 Kings 10, Jehu murders
27:52: Ahab's sons. The sons didn't commit the sin. Ahab had committed the sin.
27:58: It is worthwhile to note here, though, that the sins of an individual have a ripple effect, causing damage in an ever -widening circle.
28:06: Often, individuals who had no complicity in the sins of others are affected by those sins.
28:12: You've seen that happen to you. Someone in a business you work in does something.
28:17: Well, hey, here's one. Why do, back in the day when we used to take, we had to take ID and everything on, checks, back when people actually wrote checks, it was because of the few bad actors who wrote bad checks.
28:28: And sometimes didn't you kind of feel put out that a guy who you'd done business with for decades wanted your information, you know?
28:36: Well, it's the sin of a few that puts into jeopardy the rights of many. Possibly among the circle of the original conspirators, there may have been a wife or a child who tried to talk their dad out of the action.
28:51: Don't do this. This isn't the right thing to do to Daniel. Who knows? There could have been one. I'm just guessing, by the way.
28:56: But amongst that many people, there must have been one or two mothers, sons, nephews who tried to talk the satraps and the governors out of doing this.
29:08: Even they would have lost their lives because of the actions of the conspirators. And for those critics who laugh at the idea that several hundred people were thrown into the den, the scripture never says all of the satraps and governors were sacrificed to the lion.
29:20: It rather says, quote, those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, close quote, and their families were destroyed.
29:27: By the way, this also shows that those lions were not, they didn't leave Daniel alone because they were overfed.
29:34: They were overfed and not hungry. They ferociously attacked these nobles and their families even before they got to the bottom of the pen.
29:41: They were probably quite starved. In fact, the kings who would keep those lions would keep them in a relative state of hunger so that the battles and the things that they needed the lions to do would be accomplished very quickly and very well.
29:55: So any questions or comments about verses 23 and 24? So we're probably going to get done a little bit earlier today because we're going to finish chapter six.
30:07: And I see some of you laughing. I can do stuff. I can get stuff done early, even though I never use a sentence when a paragraph will do.
30:16: Verse 25, Then Darius the king wrote to all the people's nations and men of every language who were living in all the land.
30:24: May your peace abound. Speaking in the language of inclusion here, the scripture is referring to all those who live within the kingdom that Darius reigned over.
30:31: This message would have been delivered throughout the entire kingdom and read at gatherings for the express purpose of bringing the news of the king to the peoples of the kingdom.
30:39: I don't know that there were town hall meetings or some sort of thing like that, but it would have been spread throughout the entire kingdom and there would have been, so it would have taken some time for this message to get to the far reaches.
30:51: But Darius's intention was for the entire kingdom to understand what had happened in the capital that a man had survived the lion's den and it was his
31:02: God that brought him through that lion's den event. And Darius wanted the entire kingdom to know.
31:09: And here's what he says in verse 26, I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the
31:16: God of Daniel for he is the living God and enduring forever. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed and his dominion will be forever.
31:28: So the word for decree here is different from the word for injunction in verse eight. An injunction is a legal term to describe laws and statutes.
31:37: A decree was the equivalent of a statement of wisdom, advice, or even a command. He commands all of his subjects to follow his example in elevating
31:47: Jehovah to a place of high honor. Notice that he does not make any statement about the fact that Jehovah is the only true
31:54: God. He is the one and only true God and that all other gods are false or demons at best.
32:03: The God of the Bible explains that he is the only one. In Isaiah 45 .5,
32:10: Jehovah says this, he says, I am the Lord and there is no other. Besides me, there is no
32:18: God. I will gird you though you have not known me. Isaiah 45 .22, turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am
32:25: God and there is no other. Isaiah 46 .9, remember the former things long past for I am
32:32: God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me. Joel 2 .27,
32:38: thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel that I am the Lord your God and there is no other and my people will never be put to shame.
32:45: Deuteronomy 4 .35, to you it was shown that you might know the Lord, he is, that the Lord, he is
32:51: God, there is no other beside him. And finally, 1 Kings 8 .60,
32:56: so that all the people of the earth may know that I, the Lord, that the Lord is God, there is no one else.
33:03: How many other gods are there? Okay, silence,
33:09: I'm gonna take to mean zero. Good, good Sunday school class, good answers. Scripture leaves no room for competing gods.
33:19: Jehovah is the only God and Darius does not understand this. Don't miss that here.
33:25: He sends a proclamation out to elevate Jehovah but he doesn't do it at the expense of the non -gods, he does it alongside the non -gods.
33:36: That's a very interesting thing. Scripture leaves no room, Jehovah is the only God and Darius does not understand this.
33:41: Nevertheless, in this verse, he does get a few things right. His statements in the order which are correct are, number one, he is the living
33:48: God, that's significant. Self -existent, he is the living God. Number two, he endures forever.
33:56: All of these other false gods don't hang around. Number three, his kingdom will never be destroyed.
34:02: Isn't it interesting that in the sovereignty of God, he even puts these mouths in the mouth, he even puts these words in the mouth of a heathen pagan king to recognize that the kingdom of God, what
34:13: God sets up, will endure forever. And number four, his dominion or rulership will be forever.
34:21: Nothing will supplant or take the place of God's sovereign rulership over all of eternity.
34:29: No matter what it looks like in your life today, God is sovereign in your life. No matter how difficult things are,
34:38: God has not forgotten you, he has not abandoned you. I have seen Christians who've come to the place in their lives, all of us have come to this sometimes, where a series of bad events occur and difficulties and pains and hurts and just deep disappointments occur, and you begin to think that God has abandoned you.
34:59: He never abandons his people. Another verse that's in the H book in the
35:04: New Testament. I will never, never, never leave you nor forsake you.
35:13: When it looks like God has abandoned you, go back to scripture, which is always true.
35:20: His kingdom, his sovereignty, his dominion in your life, in my life today is forever.
35:27: And I am really grateful because I do my best to foul it up every day, and he doesn't let me often.
35:35: Sometimes he does, so that I'll learn a better lesson. Any questions or comments about verse 26? 27, he delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered
35:51: Daniel from the power of the lions. Darius continues with more correct statements about Jehovah.
35:57: Number one, if he chooses, he delivers and rescues. Get that right. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, got that right.
36:04: If he chooses, he delivers and rescues. He always delivers and rescues in the end.
36:11: Number two, he can and does perform signs and wonders both in heaven and on earth. He can.
36:16: Number three, he clearly, in this case, delivered Daniel from certain death at the power of the lions.
36:22: I think he did a good job in crafting, as much as a pagan could, a message to the far reaches of the nation that what had happened in that lion's den was unprecedented.
36:33: And they all would know that. The unfortunate aspect of all this is that Darius also believes some of the other gods he served could do these things.
36:41: Nothing could be further from the truth. Often, unbelievers will acknowledge that there's a god and that he probably has great power.
36:49: This is no different from what Darius did. The unsaved often think that by occasionally acknowledging the man upstairs, they have discharged their assumed duty to God, and they can walk unscathed through this life.
37:02: Calvin noted in his commentary, he said, for the profane think that they can discharge their duty to the true
37:08: God if they do not openly despise him, but assign him someplace or another, or other, and especially if they prefer him to all idols, they think they have satisfied
37:18: God. But this is all futile, for unless they abolish all superstitions, God by no means obtains his right, since he never, he allows of no equals.
37:31: Hence, this passage by no means proves any true and serious piety in King Darius, but it implies simply his being deeply moved by the miracle.
37:38: Often, people are deeply moved by some of the things God does. And his celebrating through all the regions subject him to the name, and his celebrating through all the regions subject to him the name and glory of the
37:52: God of Israel. Finally, as this was a special impulse on King Darius, so it did not proceed beyond a particular effect.
38:00: He acknowledged God's power and goodness on all sides, but he seized upon that specimen which was placed directly before his eyes.
38:09: Hence, he did not continue to acknowledge the God of Israel by devoting himself to true and sincere piety.
38:15: But as I have said, he wished him to be conspicuously superior to other gods, but not to be the only
38:21: God. But God rejects this modified worship, and thus there is no reason for praising
38:27: King Darius. So, what he did was fine, but it falls far short of what of the praise and the glory and the honor that is due to Jehovah God, who alone is sovereign and has created all of us for his glory.
38:44: For his glory, not for ours, for his. So, this then was the edict that Darius sent throughout the kingdom.
38:53: Who knows how the story would become embellished or diminished over time as it promulgated throughout the kingdom.
39:01: You know how stories are. We used to call it Tyrannosaurus Rex, but I think it's called the telephone game. And I think the reason we called it that as kids is because the first time
39:10: I ever played it, that was the first word that, I think I got that wrong. Obviously, it's called the telephone game. How many of you ever played that where you start in a circle and you say something and by the time it comes out the other end, it's just butchered and who knows?
39:25: So, who knows how this story was embellished or diminished, as we said, throughout the kingdom when it got to the other ends.
39:32: But the fact remains that Darius did try in his own way to give God some glory.
39:39: The thing of it is, in our lives, and we need to recognize, God wants and deserves all the glory.
39:44: All the glory, not some of it, all the glory. And so, Daniel was that example.
39:52: My God closed the mouth of the lions. Well, I didn't suffer any harm.
39:58: No, he started up, my God closed the mouth of the lions. So, verse 28, this
40:04: Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Yeah, we're gonna finish pretty early.
40:12: For I'll use it, smirk. And so, the chapter ends with Daniel vindicated and enjoying success in the
40:20: Medo -Persian kingdom. Critics like to fasten upon the two names here, Darius and Cyrus. But as described earlier, this either refers to the fact that Darius was either a governor under Cyrus and later delivered the kingdom to him or the more likely scenario in which
40:34: Darius and Cyrus are the same person. And the word and here should correctly be translated even.
40:40: It is, that word and can be correctly translated even and is in some places translated, so this
40:48: Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius, even the reign of Cyrus the Persian. The two names describe the same ruler.
40:57: The word Darius meaning wielder of the scepter or king, Cyrus the king.
41:04: The ancient Jews must have been profoundly comforted by this encouraging book and especially this chapter.
41:10: Daniel's deliverance is a prefiguring of the ultimate deliverance of the people of Israel and of the power of God and of the people of God.
41:17: Nevertheless, in the same way, Daniel remained true to Jehovah God, Christians must recognize that it is this fidelity to God that proves genuine salvation and that regardless of persecution,
41:30: Christians, true Christians must remain faithful to God. That requirement may be fast approaching.
41:37: We may be coming to a day when the church will be winnowed, when the harvest will, harvest is the wrong word, when the accumulation will be tossed up and the grain will remain true and the chaff will be blown away.
41:54: What are we gonna be? What are we going to be seen as when it comes to the time that if in this generation,
42:02: God's church is subjected to genuine persecution, which I hasten to say at least here in the
42:08: United States, we haven't really seen genuine persecution. We've been called bad names on Facebook. We've been mis -tweeted.
42:20: Oh, come on. I laughed at it. We have been, but in reality, until homes are stolen, people are killed, houses are burned down, that is genuine persecution and that is occurring in places in the world today.
42:39: Christians are martyred for their faith. They're killed because they believe, because they stand true. I hope it doesn't come here, but to think that because this is the
42:47: United States, that could never happen here is a mistake. It's a mistake because every nation has the ability, the genuine built -in ability to fall and you know what that built -in ability is?
42:59: It's the depravity of man and the best in power are still men and women and so at the end of this book,
43:10: Daniel remained true and that is what is the most important piece of information we should take out of chapter six, that he was subjected to genuine persecution, genuine death -dealing potential persecution, potential death -dealing, there we go, potential death -dealing persecution and he remained true.
43:30: I'm not saying that he wasn't afraid. We don't know, but I'm guessing that there had to be some trepidation about spending the night with lions and I don't mean the
43:39: Detroit type. I got to work on my delivery.
43:48: His faithfulness to God was a result of God's work in his life.
43:54: Lest we give too much glory to Daniel, let's remember that it was God, it was Jehovah God who saved him and who infused him and taught him and built into him
44:03: God's word so that he would be ready to stand when the day came. That's what we need.
44:09: We need God's word. We need to be spending time in it and we need to be encouraging and sharpening the iron of others when these days come.
44:19: So, and with that, we'll finish chapter six here. Chapter seven begins some of the more interesting prophecies of the book of Daniel and quite frankly,
44:30: I'm still studying. I want to stay. I believe my job sometimes is like a fellow hiking up a mountain who's two steps ahead of you and pulls you up a little bit.
44:43: Often that's what a teacher is doing. I don't have extensive knowledge about eschatology but I'm getting some of it and I'm learning it.
44:51: And what, I've read Daniel. I've read Daniel, I don't know how many times in my 40 years of working in the
44:56: Bible, but I haven't read it like this. What an incredible book.
45:02: So, if you want to have a leg up and you could be three steps up on the hill pulling me up through the brush, read chapter seven, read
45:10: Revelation. The end of, I think 17 through the end of the chapter. And when we come back together in a month or so or a couple months, we will start looking at the prophecies in chapter seven of the book of Daniel.
45:23: Now, before I close, are there any questions or comments today? Anything remotely related to this that you want to bring up?
45:33: Yes, yes, no kidding.
46:09: And so you've talked about the fact that the centerpiece of the chapter was your
46:30: God whom you constantly serve will himself deliver you in Daniel chapter six verse 16 and how
46:35: God could have just brought him to glory because of his age, but chose to deliver him. Remember that the captives and Daniel had the book of Jeremiah to read.
46:44: And so they would have begun seeing these promises fulfilled. And that had to be unbelievably exciting to those who were paying attention.
46:56: And scripture as scripture is fulfilled. And I mean, would to God that we would just be as excited about it all the time and we should be.
47:06: But imagine that generation who saw, wow, the deliverance has begun.
47:12: What Jeremiah is talking about has begun. That must have been to those who were paying attention, unbelievably exciting and encouraging.
47:21: But let me say this. If God had chosen to wait another 20, 30, 40, 50 years, those who are paying attention should stay just as excited because the scripture will be true.
47:34: The scripture will always be true, no matter what pertains, what happens. Verse 21, yes.
48:20: It's the guy that threw him to the lions. That's the guy that threw him to the lions eventually. Amen.
48:45: Amen. And so it should be with us. So it should be with us. We should be respectful to those in positions of responsibility and leadership, no matter how hard it is.
48:54: Oh, and I'm thinking of one right now. But what would happen if he got saved?
49:05: Would we be happy about that? Good. Yeah. I won't repeat that.
49:14: What would happen? What would have happened if Darius had begun to put his faith and trust in Jehovah?
49:21: It would have changed. Well, history is as good as it needs to be because God created history. It's his story.
49:27: But, you know, when you think back on these things, we have the opportunity to look back and say, well, what if, what if? And it's okay.
49:32: It's okay to say what if. What if today in our nation this ruling group began to follow the commands of the scripture?
49:42: It would just change everything. It would change freedom. It would change all the things that are happening in this country.
49:49: And even those who don't like it would come along kicking and screaming and recognize that when the righteous are in power, even the wicked rejoice.
49:59: I think that's how the scripture goes. It's very close to that. It shouldn't do very close. I'll look that up and apologize the next time
50:06: I'm with you. Yes. Yep.
51:07: Amen. And so talking about the two groups that may have occurred after Daniel remained faithful during his captivity and casting to the lions, and there may have been some, or during the time that that all occurred, this wasn't done in a box in a closet.
51:22: It was done in the open in the nation there. And so many people might have capitulated, remnants, some of the remnant might have capitulated.
51:28: The important thing is, as you pointed out, there's still the opportunity to repent from that. And true believers, when they fall, will read 1
51:38: John 1 -9 with new and invigorated renewal of interest. If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to put the screws to you.
51:48: No, to forgive you your sins. And so the remnant, some of them who may have kept their windows open, as was pointed out, and some who may have closed their windows or waited the 30 days, maybe waited the 30 days, those out of that group of people, there could be those who would repent, turn back to God.
52:07: And who's to say, I'm not gonna stand in judgment of those people. I don't know what I would have done.
52:13: I hope I would have left my window open. I hope I would have continued praying towards Jerusalem three times a day, as the custom at the time was.
52:21: But you really never know until your skin's on the line, what you're gonna do. But we know what
52:26: God will do. And we know that God is capable of putting the steel in our spines that he put in Joseph's spine to do what was right in every case.
52:34: Any other comments? Yes. Excellent point.
53:05: The point was made that 80 or 15 ages is less important than we think.
53:11: It was God who did the work. And he can do it. How old was Daniel when he first stood? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they first stood.
53:20: It was 65 years before that or more. They were teenagers. Good point.
53:26: Thank you. Okay, if there are no other comments, let's close in prayer.
53:35: Father, we thank you that you gave us this wonderful true story in the book of Daniel about a man who stood to lose everything and gave everything he had to stand for you.
53:47: And you show that your sovereignty was satisfied. Your sovereignty reigned through this entire situation, even over a pagan king.
53:56: We know that is true today. So we ask you, Lord, as you choose to allow us to see the unfolding events in our lives, that we will remain faithful by your grace through faith, for it is a work of you alone in our lives.
54:11: And we are so grateful for that. For without you, we would not stand. Thank you, Lord, that you love us.
54:17: Thank you, Lord, that you are sovereign and that you are not going, your kingdom will last forever. We want to be part of giving you the glory for that kingdom in Jesus' name.
54:25: Amen. Amen. Our guilt was great
55:51: Our bitter fate was seen Our only hope is you
56:26: Bits and fools You draw us to the truth
56:43: Our only hope is you
57:06: You gave us hope when there
57:23: You paid the debt that we So in our days of lasting youth
57:46: For we can trust your promises
57:52: Our only hope is you
58:16: Our only hope is you
58:29: Oh Lord, it is treasured
59:30: Like you there is none
59:40: True delight is found in It exceeds the heavens reached
01:00:03: For true abound My highest defended
01:00:44: My sword to fight the My song when enemies surround
01:01:04: When trials our faithful met
01:01:47: Gracious Savior My guilt and cross
01:01:58: Laid on your shoulders In my place
01:02:04: You suffered less You rose the grave in death
01:02:54: May all Oh great
01:03:19: God of highest heaven Occupy my lowly heart
01:03:26: Own it all and reign supreme Conquer every rebel power
01:03:35: Let no vice or sin remain That resists your holy war
01:03:44: You have loved and purchased me Make me yours forevermore
01:03:53: I was blinded by my sin
01:04:00: Had no ears to hear your voice Did not know
01:04:07: No taste for heaven's joys
01:04:14: Then your spirit gave me life Opened up your words to me
01:04:22: Through the gospel Gave me endless hope
01:04:30: And help me now to live a life
01:04:57: That's dependent on your grace Keep my heart and guard my soul
01:05:05: From the evils that I face You are worthy to be praised
01:05:14: With my every voice Glorify your name
01:05:30: You are worthy to be praised With my Glorify your name
01:06:12: When I faced the
01:06:18: Lord The tempter would prepare
01:06:26: He a fearful man
01:06:39: For my He must know
01:06:52: He know He know
01:07:06: He know Those he saves are his delight
01:07:21: Christ, the Lord Precious in his holy sight
01:07:31: He will hold me fast He will
01:07:56: He will He will
01:08:09: He will For my life he bled
01:08:23: And though he passed
01:08:31: His past been satisfied He will enter
01:08:42: Heaven's light He will Till our faith is turned
01:08:55: When he He show
01:09:15: He will He show us
01:09:39: He will hold He will hold
01:09:50: For us He so He will hold
01:10:15: Stricken Slitten And afflicted
01:10:31: See him Lying on a tree Tis the
01:10:37: Christ I have rejected Yes my soul
01:10:43: Tis he Tis he Tis the long
01:10:48: Expected prophet David's son And David's law
01:10:57: My son God has spoken Tis the true
01:11:04: And the faithful word Till he
01:11:30: Insulting His distress Many angels
01:11:39: Tend close to say
01:11:45: Of the deepest Stroke that pierced him
01:11:50: Was the stroke That justice came
01:12:03: He who Flee not Send but lightly Not supposedly
01:12:15: It's danger Rightly Here it's built
01:12:20: Plain as the day On the sacrifice
01:12:50: Here we have the firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost.
01:13:02: Christ, the rock of our salvation, here the refuge of the lost. Christ, the rock of our salvation, here the refuge of the lost.
01:13:10: It's the only name we boast in. Sacrifice to cancel guilt.
01:13:23: None shall ever be confounded. None shall ever be confounded.
01:14:03: Dear refuge of my weary soul,
01:14:11: On Thee when sorrow, On Thee my pain,
01:14:31: To Thee thy words seem true.
01:15:43: And still my soul would be to Thee Go prostrate here,
01:16:01: As proudly see Thy face.
01:16:28: Don't still me here, Of sovereign grace,
01:16:34: Of tens of borders frayed. Yes, it does.
01:16:41: O may I concess
01:16:48: To breathe my sorrow's air.
01:16:59: Thy mercy speak, It's open still.
01:17:06: Here let my soul retreat. With love and mercy speak,
01:17:32: It's open still. Here let my soul retreat.
01:17:41: With love and mercy speak,
01:18:08: Jesus, friend of sinners, Lovely and kind,
01:18:18: Drew me with His courts of love, Tied me, bound me to Him.
01:18:27: Around my heart still closely twined,
01:18:33: The ties that none can sever. I lay
01:18:41: His heart, Reverent Jesus, friend of sinners.
01:19:00: Crown of thorns, He wore for me, Fruits, vines, and treasures.
01:19:10: He is crying, It's poured out on the innocent.
01:19:24: He took my place, my soul to save. I am
01:19:31: His and forever the sinner.
01:19:45: I love to tell the story, Such a story.
01:19:52: Redeemer has been like He, And will be.
01:20:01: Not death, nor life, nor any,
01:20:07: Can ever separate me. The sign of the future is forever.
01:20:19: Not death, nor life. Not death, nor life, nor any, Can ever separate me.
01:20:32: The sign of the future is forever.
01:20:41: Sing it again. The sign is forever. The sign is forever.
01:21:14: By the throne of God, I have a strong and perfect plea.
01:21:23: A great high priest whose name is love, Whoever lives and pleads for me.
01:21:32: My name is graven on His hands.
01:21:37: My name is written on His heart. I know that when in heaven
01:21:45: He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart.
01:21:51: No tongue can bid me thence depart. When Satan tempts me to despair,
01:22:09: And tells me of the guilt within, Upward and see
01:22:18: Him there Who made an end to all my sin.
01:22:24: Because the sin that my sinful soul is
01:22:31: Counted free, For God the just is satisfied
01:22:37: To look on Him and pardon me. To look on Him and pardon me.
01:23:07: Isn't righteousness
01:23:13: The great unchangeable? I am the
01:23:19: King of glory And of grace. My soul is purged
01:23:30: By His love, Christ on high.
01:24:51: There is no song we could sing To honor the weight of Your glory.
01:25:01: There are no words we could speak To capture the depth of Your beauty.
01:25:13: Jesus, there's no one like You.
01:25:18: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:25:29: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There is no sinner beyond The infinite stretch of Your mercy.
01:25:54: How can we thank You enough For how
01:25:59: You have loved us completely? Jesus, there's no one like You.
01:26:12: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:26:21: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:26:31: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:26:42: Jesus, we love You. All is
01:27:07: You. All is
01:27:27: You. There's no one like You.
01:27:56: Jesus, we love You, ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:28:07: Jesus, we love You, ever adore
01:28:18: You. Ever adore You. There's no one like You.
01:28:26: Jesus, we love You, ever adore
01:28:39: You. There's no one like You. Before You gave us life and breath,
01:29:28: You numbered all our days. You set Your gracious love on us
01:29:34: And chose us to be saved. This fleeting life is passing by.
01:31:44: Good morning, and welcome to Kootenai Church on this wonderful Sunday in August.
01:31:50: Please stand as we sing, Let Your Kingdom Come. Your glorious cause,
01:32:04: O God, Engages our hearts.
01:32:09: May Jesus Christ be known Wherever we are.
01:32:16: We ask not for ourselves But for Your ring now.
01:32:24: The cross has saved us, so we pray Your kingdom come.
01:32:33: Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done.
01:32:40: So that everyone might know Your name.
01:32:47: Let Your song be heard Everywhere on earth.
01:32:54: Till Your sovereign work on earth is done.
01:33:01: Let Your kingdom come. Thus Your strength,
01:33:12: O God, And courage to see Perform Your wondrous deeds
01:33:20: Through those who are weak. Lord, use us as You want,
01:33:28: Whatever the test. By grace we'll praise
01:33:33: Your gospel Till our dying days. Your kingdom come.
01:33:44: Let Your will be done. So that everyone might know
01:33:52: Your name. Let Your song be heard
01:33:58: Everywhere on earth. Till Your sovereign work on earth is done.
01:34:08: Let Your kingdom come. Let Your kingdom come.
01:34:19: Let Your will be done. So that everyone might know
01:34:27: Your name. Let Your song be heard
01:34:33: Everywhere on earth. Till Your sovereign work on earth is done.
01:34:43: Let Your kingdom come. I should pay
01:35:18: An interest in the Savior's blood.
01:35:26: Died He for me Who caused His pain.
01:35:33: For me who lived To death pursue.
01:35:39: of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life, of his life
01:36:36: And bled for Adam's helpless race,
01:36:43: Tis mercy all immense and free,
01:36:49: But shouldst thou for long thy imprisoned spirit blame,
01:37:24: Fast thou giv'st sin and nature's might,
01:37:30: Thy life infused a great degrade,
01:37:37: I woke, the dungeon flamed with light,
01:37:45: My chains fell off, my heart was free,
01:37:50: I rose, went forth, and followed thee,
01:37:58: I'm waiting now, I've had a day,
01:38:05: That thou, my God, shouldst die for me.
01:38:13: We're going to sing this a cappella. No condemnation that Jesus is my righteousness divine,
01:38:48: Bold I approach the eternal throne,
01:38:54: And claim the Christ my
01:39:00: Lord, Amazing love, how can it be,
01:39:09: That thou, my God, shouldst die for me.
01:39:16: Amen. You may be seated. Well, I have a number of announcements for you this morning.
01:39:29: First, I want to thank those who contributed as well as helped put on the rummage sale that raised almost $1 ,900 for our kids club.
01:39:36: And there were some more items out in the foyer. So if you want to pick any of those up, then today's your chance to do that before they either go back to who donated them or we sell them online.
01:39:46: And speaking of Adventure Club, we have our week of adventure coming up at the end of this month. And there is out in the hallway a sign -up table for you.
01:39:53: If you'd like to register your kids or talk to somebody about helping in that club and finding out ways that you can contribute and help out, be checking out that table that's in the foyer.
01:40:02: Tomorrow night is the Men's Fellowship at 6 p .m. And speaking of things happening this week, we have another group of chairs coming in so that we don't have to use some of the metal folding chairs on Sundays where we have a large capacity of people.
01:40:15: So those are showing up this week sometime. I don't know when. I don't know if it's going to be at 7 o 'clock in the morning or 7 o 'clock at night.
01:40:22: I'll probably know a day before they arrive. But I could use four to six other people to help receive delivery of that.
01:40:29: So if you would be willing to help out and you're someone that I can call sort of last minute and have you come over and give me a hand, please let me know.
01:40:35: And I'll put you on a list so that I can call you this week when those are delivered. In the future, we have on September 1st midweek studies starting up on Wednesday nights.
01:40:45: Brian Wood and Jeff Miller are going to be leading that. Jeff's going to be teaching through the Book of Jude. That is at 7 p .m.
01:40:52: here on Wednesday nights. And that starts September 1st. So mark that on your calendar. And then also we have a membership class coming up on October 16th and October 23rd.
01:41:01: Now, if you're interested in church membership, these two classes are available to you. And if neither of those dates work for you, please still let me know that you would like to attend a class because we can always schedule a third class or move one of those dates if there's another day that would work good for a group of people.
01:41:16: I expect from what I have been hearing that there are a number of people that are going to be interested in that. So we're probably planning on two, possibly three different classes depending on how many people sign up.
01:41:25: So October 16th and 23rd, mark those two dates down. And one last one, and this is a bit of a self -serving announcement.
01:41:30: If anybody finds my tie chain floating around somewhere, I know it's in this facility, little silver thing.
01:41:37: Oh, Nate says it. You have it? Excellent. Perfect. I'm going to go back and fetch that when I'm done so that I don't have to preach all morning with my tie over like that.
01:41:45: Turn please now to 1 Peter 4 for the Scripture reading. 1 Peter 4.
01:41:55: And we're going to read together this entire chapter. 1
01:42:08: Peter 4. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
01:42:24: For the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
01:42:36: In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you, but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
01:42:48: For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
01:42:57: The end of all things is near. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
01:43:03: Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
01:43:10: Be hospitable to one another without complaint, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
01:43:19: Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God. Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which
01:43:27: God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.
01:43:34: Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.
01:43:44: But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exultation.
01:43:54: If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you're blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
01:44:01: Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.
01:44:07: But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God, and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
01:44:20: And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?
01:44:26: Therefore those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right.
01:44:34: Stand with me as we pray. Let's bow our heads.
01:44:43: Our Father, we are grateful to you that you have called us for this very purpose, to follow the example of Jesus Christ, to bear his reproaches and his sufferings, to gladly cast our lot in with those who are reproached and maligned, who bear your name.
01:44:58: For this purpose you have called us, for this purpose you have saved us, that we may be a testimony to a watching world, and we pray that you would make us faithful to that end, that we may even in the midst of affliction and hostility and suffering, that we may glorify you, our
01:45:13: Lord, our Savior, in that great name that you have called us by. We thank you that we belong to Christ and that Christ belongs to us.
01:45:21: We thank you that we are your sheep of your pasture, that we are your people, a holy priesthood, a royal people for your possession.
01:45:29: And we are grateful that you have called us out of darkness to this great and high calling. Give us strength, we pray, to face the difficulty of whatever hour is ahead of us and whatever we are enduring now for the sake of the gospel.
01:45:41: We pray that you would be glorified in and through your church, that you would strengthen us, that you would encourage us, that you would fix our hearts and our hope upon Christ, upon heaven, and upon the reward that is to come.
01:45:52: And may we in honoring you and glorifying you testify to the great grace and the gospel of our salvation purchased for us by Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
01:46:33: Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the
01:47:00: Lamb. I know that the light of His presence with me doth continually dwell.
01:47:10: Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the
01:47:17: Lamb. Redeemed through His infinite mercy, whose child and forever
01:47:26: I am. I think of my blessed
01:47:35: Redeemer, I think of Him all the day long.
01:47:41: I sing for I cannot be silent, His love is the theme of my song.
01:47:52: Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
01:48:03: His child and forever I am. I know
01:48:13: I shall see in His beauty the King in whose law
01:48:19: I delight, who lovingly guard my footsteps and giveth me salt in the night.
01:48:31: Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
01:48:43: His child and forever I am. What love to remember, no wrongs we have done, omniscient, all -knowing,
01:49:09: He counts not their sum. Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore, our sins they are many,
01:49:21: His mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
01:49:35: Stronger than darkness, new and reborn, our sins they are many,
01:49:42: His mercy is more. Patience could wait as we constantly roam, what
01:49:51: Father so tender is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor, our sins they are many,
01:50:05: His mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
01:50:19: Stronger than darkness, new and reborn, our sins they are many,
01:50:27: His mercy is more. What riches of kindness
01:50:33: He lavished on us, His blood was the payment,
01:50:38: His life was the cost. We stood in the death we could never afford, our sins they are many,
01:50:50: His mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
01:51:03: Stronger than darkness, new and reborn, our sins they are many,
01:51:11: His mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
01:51:35: The psalmist says in Psalm 139, verses 7 through 12, Where can
01:51:41: I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there.
01:51:49: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. If I lift up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will lay hold of me.
01:52:04: If I say, surely the darkness will bruise me, and the light around me will be night, even the darkness is not too dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day.
01:52:16: Darkness and light are alike to you. When I fear my faith will fail,
01:52:33: Christ will hold me fast. When the tempter would prevail,
01:52:41: He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hope through life's fearful path, for my lung is often cold,
01:52:57: He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
01:53:07: He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so,
01:53:15: He will hold me fast.
01:53:26: Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast.
01:53:34: Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast.
01:53:43: He'll not let my soul be lost, His promises shall last,
01:53:50: Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.
01:54:01: He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
01:54:08: For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
01:54:24: For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast.
01:54:32: Justice has been satisfied, He will hold me fast.
01:54:40: Raise with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast.
01:54:48: Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last.
01:54:59: He will hold me fast.
01:55:06: For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
01:55:35: You may be seated. Turn your
01:55:43: Bibles now, please, to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. Hebrews, chapter 10, and be prepared to begin looking at verse 32.
01:56:01: And the last Lord's blessing on our study here before we begin. Our Father, it is always with great expectation that we can come to Your Word, knowing that You reveal
01:56:12: Yourself in the pages of Scripture, and You speak to us, Your people, in the pages of Scripture. And when we rightly understand the meaning of the text, then we are hearing
01:56:20: Your voice there in what You have recorded for our benefit. And we pray that that would be the case here today, that You would grant to us illumination and shed
01:56:29: Your light upon our hearts, upon our minds, upon our souls, that we may see ourselves as You see us, that we may see
01:56:36: Christ as He is in truth, and that we may apprehend Him, and that You would fill our hearts with joy and with love and affection for Him, for what
01:56:46: He has done for us. We pray that in all that is said here and in our study together, that You would be glorified and honored as You help us to understand this passage.
01:56:56: We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I'm very grateful today for preaching for me in my place last
01:57:03: Sunday, because that allowed me to spend time at the church campout, which is always a joy to be there with my family and not have to worry about preparing a sermon.
01:57:10: But today we are back in the book of Hebrews, beginning looking at verse 32. We're talking about sufferings and trials and affliction and reproaches.
01:57:18: And if anything I say sounds familiar this morning, it's because Dave always likes to piggyback on what I'm preaching and try and take whatever subject
01:57:25: I happen to be dealing with and shoehorn it into 1 Peter. And actually, as in the providence of God would have it, these closing chapters of Hebrews happen to parallel very well the entire book of 1
01:57:40: Peter, because the book of 1 Peter is about how we as Christians handle suffering and persecution and affliction when we suffer for righteousness.
01:57:46: How should we approach that? How should we view that? What are the opportunities that we should take in the midst of that? The book of Hebrews, these closing chapters are one long exhortation to enduring in the midst of suffering and persecution and trials and affliction.
01:58:00: So the subject matter that we're each dealing with happens to be very similar. And consequently, you are going to hear me quote quite a bit from 1
01:58:07: Peter. Not from Dave's sermon, but from 1 Peter this morning. And probably a lot more of that in the weeks ahead as I just remind you of what it is that God says concerning our responsibility in the midst of persecution and suffering.
01:58:22: I know the persecution and suffering is not really a chipper, upbeat message, but it's a lot better than it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
01:58:29: God talking about judgment for weeks on end. And we're done with that. You have endured through all of that. And now we're at something of a little bit more of a positive subject.
01:58:37: Even though we're talking about afflictions and trials and tribulations and persecution, the way that the author handles this by reminding us of how we should handle that and the encouragement that he gives is actually intended to encourage us, to put courage into us and strengthen us for the trials ahead.
01:58:53: And that I think is one of the positive aspects of how the author here handles this subject matter. So the author is confident of the salvation of most of his readers.
01:59:02: Which is why after the stern warning passage in verses 26 through 31, in continuing in the warning passage actually, but after those stern warning there, he encourages his readers by really saying that he is confident of their salvation because in the midst of persecution and affliction and suffering, his readers had actually participated in the suffering of others and had endured this.
01:59:26: And so we saw last week that he begins verse 32 by reminding his readers, by telling his readers to remember the former days when after being enlightened, they endured a great conflict of sufferings.
01:59:36: And we just focused on that encouragement to remember and what that meant a couple weeks ago. I said last week, but it was actually a couple weeks ago.
01:59:43: See that's how fast I forgot Dave's sermon. That was not intended to sound like that actually, but there's just, there's no recovering from that.
01:59:58: So after, he encourages his readers to remember their former afflictions and to remember their sufferings.
02:00:05: Why? Not for the purpose of bemoaning how horrible their life is, or for having a poor me attitude, or trying to get somebody's sympathy, or to try and constantly play the victim and bask in their victimology.
02:00:18: The purpose of remembering all the sufferings was so that they could recall the grace of God in the midst of all of those sufferings and thus be encouraged for whatever lie ahead.
02:00:25: If they could look back and see the faithfulness of God in all that they had endured, then they could certainly at that moment look forward to whatever might be coming down the pike and say, if God has been faithful here, he will be faithful there.
02:00:36: And if God strengthened me to endure this, he can strengthen me to endure whatever is to come. And it's that from which we gain our encouragement.
02:00:43: It's that from which we gain some of our strength. He is reminding them that short -term enthusiasm withers under the heat of hostility for the faith.
02:00:53: Long -term endurance is the mark of genuine faith. It is easy to be enthusiastic in the short -term about a confession of faith or a conversion or an experience that you had, a religious experience, but that is not the test of genuine saving faith.
02:01:07: The test of genuine saving faith is the long -term endurance. Enthusiasm in the short -term is easy.
02:01:16: Enthusiastic fakes are a dime a dozen, but enduring faithfulness is a rare gem.
02:01:22: And it is the enduring faithfulness which is the mark of true salvation. So after encouraging them to reflect upon the sufferings that they had endured, the author now describes the afflictions and their participation in them and picking up now in verse 32.
02:01:33: Let's just read verses 32 through 34. And we're not going to get to all of this, but we're going to get to some of it.
02:01:39: But remember the former days when after being enlightened you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
02:01:50: For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
02:02:00: Now just a word of encouragement to those of you who may be a bit squeamish. Whenever a preacher has the opportunity to speak on the subjects of persecution and suffering and trials and tribulations that Christians have endured over the years, it is always tempting for the preacher to rely heavily upon the accounts of those who have suffered persecution and to get up and to read whatever the last newsletter was from the
02:02:23: Voice of the Martyrs or to read as it were Fox's Book of Martyrs and tell you about all the horrible things that have been suffered and that makes for a rhetorical flourish.
02:02:32: It makes for an emotional appeal. It really does strike us in the feels and brings a tear to our eye.
02:02:38: I want to encourage you if you are squeamish in any way, that is not how I'm going to be handling the subject of persecution and trials.
02:02:44: If that is something that you enjoy reading and hearing about those things, then feel free to go home and read
02:02:49: Fox's Book of Martyrs and enjoy yourself. Enjoy it. You do you but I'm not going to stand up here and read all of those accounts because you'll notice that the author does not get into all the gory details.
02:03:00: We don't need to know the gory details of suffering and persecution or to be reminded of how horrible it can be in order for us to intellectually appraise what our response should be to it and for us to deal with it in a
02:03:14: Christian way. So I'm not going to get up here and pour out gory details. So if you've been wondering at what point do
02:03:19: I get up and walk out or at what point do I plug my ears, then probably many of you here are like that. Just calm down.
02:03:25: Just take a deep breath. Relax. We're not going to get into any of those gory details because I don't think we need to.
02:03:30: In fact, I think that the way that the author handles the subject here by just dealing with persecution and sufferings in terms of their various categories and things that Christians are likely to suffer,
02:03:39: I think that that is instructive as to how we should handle the same subject when we talk about it and teach on it.
02:03:44: Now, before we dive into the passage, I want you to notice the structure of the passage and how all of these statements of affliction and suffering are connected in verses 32 through 34.
02:03:56: You'll notice first that he says, you endured, this is at the end of verse 32, you endured a great conflict of sufferings.
02:04:02: That's just a general statement that describes the greatness of their suffering, the kinds of suffering.
02:04:08: It is the most generic and general and broadest way of speaking of sufferings that the author could have used.
02:04:14: Then you'll notice in the next verse, verse 33, that he talks about two kinds of suffering. Partly, he says, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
02:04:27: There are two kinds of sufferings that he mentions. He says, on the one hand, or partly, you were made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and on the other hand, partly also, you became sharers with those who were so treated.
02:04:39: Those are two different kinds of suffering. One is a personal suffering. They had been made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations.
02:04:46: That was personally what they had endured. The second kind is a participatory suffering.
02:04:54: I should always practice that before I get up here. It's a participatory suffering where they had participated or shared in the suffering of other people.
02:05:01: They had joined in with those who were so treated. So those who had not endured the public spectacle, the trials and tribulations, they were able to join in the suffering of others who did endure those things.
02:05:12: They participated in their suffering, as it were, even though they might not have personally been enduring any of that. So two different kinds of suffering there.
02:05:19: Then you'll notice that the author gives an illustration of both of those kinds of suffering, a specific illustration of it in verse 34.
02:05:27: For you showed sympathy to the prisoners. That is the participatory suffering. They had participated in the suffering of those who were in prison by showing sympathy to them, by probably providing for them, by doing something to reach out to them and comfort them in that affliction.
02:05:39: They had participated in the suffering of others. And then the second example is they had accepted joyfully the seizure of their property.
02:05:45: That was their personal suffering. So a very general statement of suffering. And then he says there's personal suffering and participatory suffering.
02:05:51: Here's an example of participatory suffering. You shared with those who were so treated. And here's an example of your own personal suffering. They had accepted joyfully the seizure of their property.
02:05:59: So that is kind of the outline of the passage. And now, and they had, by the way, endured all of that and it was in evidence that they had for themselves a better possession, that they were genuinely saved, genuinely converted, that they were not apostates.
02:06:10: They were not of those who shrink away to destruction, verse 39, but they were those who had faith to the salvation and the preserving of the soul.
02:06:17: Now, let's look at the description of their afflictions. And as I've already noted, I think the key to understanding the passage, or at least their attitude toward it, and the reason what they were to remember was they had endured.
02:06:27: That is what He is calling them to remember. Not the pain of the affliction, not the difficulty itself, but the fact that they had endured this.
02:06:34: They were to remember or recall to their mind that they had already gone through a number of afflictions, being made a public spectacle, reproaches and tribulations, sharing with those who were so treated.
02:06:44: They had their property seized. They had endured all of these things. That's what they were to remember. The word translated endured is the
02:06:50: Greek word hupomeno. Hupo meaning under and meno meaning to abide or to remain or to stay.
02:06:56: So that word endured literally has the idea of staying under or abiding or remaining under.
02:07:02: And it doesn't just mean that they were there and that they gritted their teeth, but rather that they bared up under the weight of the affliction that they were enduring.
02:07:11: There is a weight that is to be borne. There is a cost that is to be paid. There is a difficulty to be faced.
02:07:17: And they had stayed under it. They had hupomeno, remained underneath of that affliction and suffering. And they had endured it all the way from the beginning of it all the way to the end of it until the weight of that affliction was lifted from them.
02:07:29: But at no point did they skirt out of it. Instead they endured it by remaining under the affliction. And just the word endured conjures up to your mind something that is either uncomfortable or even at the worst painful.
02:07:42: Does it not? The very word endured has with it the idea of something that is very difficult to endure.
02:07:49: After all, you don't endure eating a steak, do you? I don't endure eating steak.
02:07:55: I might endure being burned at the steak, but I don't endure eating steak. I don't endure spending time with my wife.
02:08:01: I enjoy spending time with my wife. There is no burden that is to be borne in the things that we enjoy. But though he chooses the word endure, he uses the word that means to remain under, to remain steadfast under and to bear up, to carry that burden of the suffering and afflictions.
02:08:17: That indicates to us that what they were enduring and you can tell from the words that are used, reproaches and tribulations and prison and having your property seized, that these were not things that were pleasant.
02:08:27: You can see that the difficulties that they faced were those difficulties that needed to be borne up under. They remained under them and carried the weight of it without looking for a way out.
02:08:38: That is the idea. They had endured it. It tells you that what they were going through and what they faced was not pleasant.
02:08:44: Now you may be thinking to yourself, but Jim, it says that they joyfully accepted the seizure of their property. That sounds like eating a steak, doesn't it?
02:08:52: That sounds like how somebody might respond if they were eating a steak, doing it joyfully. They were enduring this and they accepted joyfully the seizure of their property.
02:09:02: Do you have to endure things that you enjoy? No, you don't. Was it the seizure of their property that brought them joy?
02:09:11: What was it that brought them joy? That they knew for themselves that they had a better possession and a lasting one.
02:09:18: That was the cause of their joy. It wasn't the pain that they suffered that brought them joy. It was the fact that in the midst of suffering the pain, they knew that they had a better and a lasting possession.
02:09:30: So it is not the seizure of their property that brought them joy. They were joyful not because their property was being seized, but because they knew that they had property that could not be seized.
02:09:40: They looked beyond the seizure of their property in the immediate and said to themselves, we have things that nobody can take away from us.
02:09:47: We have an inheritance, we have a kingdom, we have an eternal possession, we have glory and grace and a future that nobody can rob from us.
02:09:55: And even if they take everything here and our lives, they cannot take from us that lasting and better possession.
02:10:00: That brought them joy. They didn't stand around and say, oh goody, our stuff is being taken again. That was not it.
02:10:06: They endured that, but they did so with joy in their hearts because they knew they had things that could not be taken from them.
02:10:12: They were looking forward as it were and seeing something that was yet unseen, an eternal possession that they had.
02:10:19: They saw it, they almost, you could say that they had the assurance of what they hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
02:10:24: Wouldn't you say that? That sounds like the definition of faith, doesn't it? In Hebrews 11, because that's exactly what it is.
02:10:31: By faith, they looked forward and said, we have things that cannot be taken from us and therefore, take what can be taken from us and we will be joyful that we have things that you cannot take from us.
02:10:42: They endured that. It is interesting to notice how Scripture uses the word endure. It is sometimes translated endure as it is here.
02:10:50: It's also translated as persevering or perseveres. A couple times it is translated as patiently enduring because it has the idea not just of remaining under something and staying under something, but to do so with patience.
02:11:02: It is an enduring that looks forward to the future but is willing to wait for either the lift of the difficulty of the suffering to be lifted or it is willing to wait until the end when there is no more suffering for one reason or another.
02:11:17: James 1 .12 translates the same word as persevere. Listen to this. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial.
02:11:22: Now as I read these Scriptures to you, I want you to hear how the ideas of tribulation and trial and affliction are coupled with this idea of persevering and perseverance and enduring.
02:11:34: James 1 .12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the
02:11:40: Lord has promised to those who love him. Notice how James in that passage talks about persevering under trial but then he also points forward to something that we receive the crown of life that the
02:11:50: Lord gives to those who love him. There is the reward that is held out in James just like here in Hebrews. A reward that is held out for those who will endure and persevere all the way to the end.
02:12:00: James 5 .11 We count those blessed who endured. You've heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the
02:12:06: Lord's dealings that the Lord is full of compassion and merciful. Romans 12 .12 Paul says that we are to be rejoicing in hope persevering in tribulation.
02:12:14: That's our word persevering in tribulation devoted to prayer. 1 Peter 2 .20 This word is used twice where Peter says for what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated you endure it with patience?
02:12:27: But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it this finds favor with God.
02:12:33: What is it that we endure? We endure being harshly treated and we endure that with patience.
02:12:39: We suffer for it and we patiently endure it this finds favor with God. I find it comforting that the same word is used to describe
02:12:46: Jesus too. In this same book Hebrews chapter 12 verses 2 through 3 fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God for consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
02:13:06: So here in chapter 10 the author calls us to remember our own suffering and God's faithfulness in the midst of that and to be willing to endure this great conflict of suffering.
02:13:16: Then in chapter 12 he points us back to the Lord Jesus and says consider him who did the same thing endured such hostility against himself.
02:13:23: Jesus endured something he suffered on our behalf and remained under the affliction. He could have at any moment asked the father to send legions of angels to his aid and they would have come but he didn't do that.
02:13:34: Instead of getting out of the affliction and the suffering instead of finding an easy way out he endured that suffering and affliction and he did so for our sake.
02:13:43: 1 Peter 2 .20 which I just read to you it uses the word endure twice the very next phrase says that we are followed to follow
02:13:50: Christ in this example. We are called to follow Christ in the same suffering. 1 Peter 2 .21 You have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example to follow in his steps who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth and while being reviled he did not revile in return while suffering he uttered no threats but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously.
02:14:11: That is the example that we are called to follow. Christ suffered for us in our step in our stead and we are to follow in his steps to endure that to face that to stand up and bear up under the same suffering so you and I can know that the high priest our high priest who intercedes for us who understands our weaknesses has himself endured suffering and hostility from sinners and he has done so with faithfulness and now he calls us to follow him and to do the exact same thing and to do so in his name knowing that if the world hated him it will hate us if the world persecuted him it will persecute us and we are called to endure and to be steadfast and stand up and bear under that burden of the oppression and the hostility that the evil world will throw at us and we are to do so with faithfulness.
02:15:01: He calls us to endure a great conflict of suffering. He has already endured a great conflict of suffering and we are to in this position we are to stay or remain that's part of the meaning of this word endure to stay or to remain and it's a beautiful picture of what endurance is really we are under the weight of trial we are we are there bearing a burden and persevering under it and presumably we are supposed to be able to say that we would endure or remain under the suffering to stay there sometimes this word is translated not in any context that has to do with suffering or enduring but simply as the idea of remaining somewhere or staying somewhere
02:15:43: I'll give you two examples of how it's used that way in scripture in Acts chapter 17 then immediately the brethren sent
02:15:48: Paul out to go as far as the sea and Silas and Timothy remained there this means they stayed there see the idea behind this word you stay there you endure it and you stay there you stay in that position you don't get out
02:16:00: Luke 2 verse 43 describes Jesus as a child saying that he as they were returning after spending the full number of days the boy
02:16:06: Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem but his parents were unaware of it so the word is used to describe just the idea of remaining or staying in a place enduring conflict and sufferings involves staying under the weight of it when
02:16:18: God calls you to stay under the weight of it now there is a way that you can escape affliction and sufferings and the hostility of the world isn't there there is an escape route there is an exit and it's got compromise written right over the top of the door you can escape the world's hostility if you will bow your knee to the spirit of the age if you will deny the truth if you will not proclaim it if you will compromise if you will adopt the world's affections and the world's priorities and the world's world view the world will love you the world loves its own so throw in your lot with the
02:16:53: God hating sinners those who reject him and hate him take the light and love darkness throw in your lot with them mimic their talking points mimic their world view mimic their ideology mimic their priorities and affections if you do all of that the world will love you that's the escape route you can get out from underneath of the world's hostility and affliction if you just cast your lot in with the world it really isn't that easy but instead we are to endure in other words we could put down the weight of the world's opposition to us we could put it down but it would involve compromise and it would involve sin and we are called to endure rather than to escape now at this point you're probably thinking to yourself so Jim does this mean then that it is always wrong to avoid suffering is it always wrong to avoid suffering or are there circumstances and situations where if we can we should avoid suffering and I would say there are certainly situations where if you can you should or can avoid suffering
02:17:58: I'll give you four examples from the life of Paul all of them from Acts chapters 23 and 24 and I almost think that the
02:18:04: Holy Spirit's point in giving us these four examples from the life of Paul is to show us that there are times when it is okay to avoid suffering if suffering can be avoided example number one is when
02:18:14: Paul was arrested on the Temple Mount for going into the Temple Mount and the centurion had him up and he asked on the stairs of the
02:18:21: Temple Mount to be able to address the Jews that were below him this is in Acts chapter 23 and he gave this long address and he got to the part about him being sent to the
02:18:28: Gentiles to preach the gospel to the Gentiles to turn them from darkness to light and the Jews went crazy they just went nuts ballistic calling for his blood the commander of the forces in Jerusalem had to take
02:18:37: Paul sees him and bring him into the barracks and then the commander said I'm going to let's have him scourged and we'll just beat him and lash him until he tells us why it is that the
02:18:46: Jews outside were angry with him now really what he should have done was take the Jews outside and scourge them until they told him why they were angry with him but they decided he decided he was going to do this to the
02:18:54: Apostle Paul and so they're stretching him out getting him ready to be scourged do you remember what Paul did? he dropped his little
02:19:00: Roman citizenship card right on the table in front of the commander and said excuse me but is it lawful for you to beat a man who is a
02:19:07: Roman citizen and uncondemned? and the centurion said ro shaggy that is unlawful it is unlawful for us to arrest him it is unlawful for us to bind him it is certainly unlawful for us to take measures to scourge him that is not something you wanted to do if you wanted to keep your job or keep your life
02:19:29: Paul used his Roman citizenship to escape suffering at that moment that's not the only example there's a second one on the very next day the centurion brought
02:19:39: Paul in before the Sanhedrin again Acts chapter 23 and the Sadducees and the Pharisees were there and they're having this discussion and all of them are allied against Paul all of them want him dead and do you remember what
02:19:48: Paul did? he said today I am on trial for the hope and the resurrection of the dead and instantly the entire gathering was divided into two camps they had the
02:19:57: Sadducees who denied resurrection who wanted Paul dead and suddenly the Pharisees who affirmed resurrection and felt strangely compelled to defend this guy that just moments earlier they wanted him dead but now their doctrine is on the line they can't cast in their lot with the
02:20:10: Sadducees and see this man get persecuted and killed if indeed he is on trial for the hope and the resurrection of the dead that just blew up the whole meeting and eventually the controversy got so heated that the centurion had to grab the commander had to grab
02:20:23: Paul and take him by force out of there lest he be torn to shreds Paul escaped that by just deftly making one statement that split the whole thing and blew the whole meeting up he avoided suffering and possibly even death the next example example number three since that plot foiled and the plot before that had foiled the
02:20:40: Jews decided that they were going to get together and bind themselves by an oath not to eat or drink until they killed the apostle Paul well
02:20:46: Paul's nephew found out about this and he went and told Paul hey uncle Paul there's 40 guys who swore not to eat or drink until they kill you do you remember what
02:20:53: Paul did he said go tell the commander the nephew went up told the commander and the commander took Paul by night and ushered him out of Jerusalem to Caesarea to escape that ploy
02:21:02: Paul worked and moved in order to avoid suffering example number four when he was in Caesarea he first stood and gave his defense before Felix Felix sort of put
02:21:12: Paul on the shelf for a bit until he was replaced by Festus Festus wanting to curry favor with the Jews went to Jerusalem a little
02:21:17: PR visit and while he was there the Jews were in Jerusalem said hey you got this guy named Paul we would really like to see him die
02:21:22: I mean we'd really like to try him to see if there's any reason for him to suffer at our hands and Felix wanting to curry favor with them said sure come on out to Caesarea when
02:21:31: I go we'll call him out and see what he has to say for himself so they had this little trial Festus is there and the Jews accusing
02:21:36: Paul are there and they bring their accusations against Paul and Paul gives his defense but Paul can smell it in the air that Festus' desire is to turn him over to the
02:21:44: Jews and be done with him to wash his hands with the Apostle Paul knowing that they will take him back to Jerusalem they'll try him and what they do with Paul he doesn't care he's not worried about it because it's not his prisoner it's not his circus it's not his monkeys he doesn't care but Paul can see that coming so Paul says
02:21:56: I appeal to Caesar now as a Roman citizen Paul had every right to appeal to Caesar and every right to have
02:22:02: Caesar hear his case from that point forward it was no longer Festus' hands it was no longer in the
02:22:07: Jews' hands Paul had to stand before Caesar where he could present his case now Paul knew in all four of those instances that he faced suffering and likely even death if he didn't act in all four of those instances and what the
02:22:19: Apostle Paul do twice he used his Roman citizenship card and once both of times he just definitely knew exactly what to do to avoid suffering so are there times when we can avoid suffering if it's avoidable yes in fact that's the wise thing to do but there are times when it is impossible to avoid suffering because suffering is unavoidable so are we required to wake up every morning and wonder how can
02:22:45: I suffer today I'm going to find something miserable that I can endure today
02:22:50: I'm just enjoying my cup of coffee I'm just enjoying and my Bible in the morning I have to find some way to be miserable before noon or my day is not fulfilled is that our responsibility no it's not our responsibility but our responsibility is to bear up under whatever unavoidable suffering comes our way and if we cannot get out of that suffering except by compromise or denial or some sin or unfaithfulness to Christ if we can't escape through any of those routes we are to bear up under it to stand under it and to endure it so what is it that we are to endure we are to endure a great conflict of sufferings
02:23:26: I love this description great conflict the word conflict there I think is very instructive as to what the what the writer has in mind here it is a word translated as fight in the
02:23:35: King James Version as contest in the NIV as struggle in the ESV and in the New King James and it is here translated as conflict the noun form of the word was used in the
02:23:46: New Testament and that's the form of it here to describe a challenge or a contest it was a word that was used of an athletic competition or a struggle which was a public event in fact you will notice in the text that he talks about being made a public spectacle those who would enter into the arena and fight one another they would enter into one of these contests the word used here and they would struggle and fight against one until one left the victor and one left the vanquished or one left the victor and one was carried out the vanquished and that's the word that is used here the noun for conflict a struggle a challenge a competition a competition between two people the verb form of this is used of competing in an athletic contest it's used that way in 2nd
02:24:26: Timothy 2 verse 5 also if anyone competes as an athlete he does not he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules there the word is used in the verb form twice to speak of competing in an athletic contest and the imagery here of the athletic imagery that the author is employing is intended to call to our mind the need for preparation and discipline and self control and endurance it's intended to call to our mind the struggle it is a conflict of struggling and what is it that we are to fight against you'll notice that the author does not say who our opponent is in the ring we have been made a public spectacle put out into public view as it were put on display through reproaches and trials and tribulations and we have entered into this conflict of suffering though he uses a word that describes two people challenging and competing against one another you'll notice that the author does not say who our struggle is against is our struggle against suffering he doesn't say it's against suffering he said our struggle is suffering he doesn't say that our struggle is against one another and you might think at this point well
02:25:26: Jim this is a great opportunity to bring up the fact that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and princes of darkness in this present day that would be a great opportunity to mention that yeah but that's that's not what the author is talking about here he's not even talking about our spiritual opponents against which we are struggling he's using the analogy of struggling and conflict and suffering to describe sorry this conflict and struggle to describe what suffering is like in other words the suffering that we endure is like an athletic contest in that as we face the hostility of the world it will require discipline single minded focus intentionality preparation work strength some sort of forethought some sort of looking forward and anticipating what is to come it is very tempting when we live in a world that is very quickly going crazy very quickly going crazy to put our fingers in our ears and say don't mention persecution don't mention suffering don't mention conflict
02:26:29: I don't want to hear about it until it comes well hold on a second you ought to be preparing for whatever lies ahead at least in your mind saying
02:26:37: I'm going to prepare my mind gird up the loins of my mind to prepare for whatever is ahead of me if it is suffering then
02:26:44: I will be prepared for that and if it is not then praise the Lord because there are really only three things that can happen to you either
02:26:51: God is going to bless you graciously and things will go well and you will be extremely blessed in this world in which case you have received the blessing of God or God is going to pour out on this nation wrath and you may be persecuted and suffer affliction the seizure of your property and imprisonment in which case
02:27:08: God will sanctify that and make you more like Christ which is a blessing or you might suffer persecution and die in which case you go to be with Christ and that's a blessing so no matter what we are winners because if we lose everything that sanctifies us and we become more like Christ if I die
02:27:24: I go to be with Christ and if he just pours out on me his blessings then I get to receive the blessings of Christ there's nothing good that can come to us so we have to fix our minds and our hearts upon that reality and understand that we need to like an athlete who is fixing to step into the arena and to compete against another to prepare ourselves to fight and endure and be strong enough in such a way that we walk into this arena of affliction and suffering whatever the future holds and say to ourselves we can do this because Christ has called us to it and we have an example in him and we can follow in his footsteps and we can do this faithfully because he will strengthen us in the midst of it suffering is a struggle and it is a struggle and it will require discipline and a single minded focus and you are not going to be able to walk away loving this world and Christ because you are going to lose one of those
02:28:13: I promise you you will lose one of those so love him or love this world and you will choose if you love this world you are the apostate described in verse 26 31 and you get everything that is described there love
02:28:24: Christ and you get all of the reward and the blessings that are to come like an athletic competition the struggle also brings with it a prize or a reward you will notice the language that is used in verse 34 we have a better possession and a lasting one he speaks of the great reward in verse 35 receiving what is promised in verse 36 and the preserving of the soul in verse 39 that is the language of reward like in an athletic competition our struggle and our suffering and our enduring affliction in this world and the hostility of this world brings with it the promise of a great reward that is why
02:28:55: Paul in Romans chapter 8 says that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us there is no comparison between these things 2
02:29:05: Corinthians 4 verse 17 the momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all comparison whatever suffering it is the seizure of your property the imprisonment the affliction that you endure and the trials the tribulations the reproaches all of it anything that he calls you to suffer in this world is not worthy to be compared with even a moment of the glory that we receive in the afterlife we have for us a kingdom which cannot be taken and an inheritance that is preserved and kept for us and we have the saints and we have a new creation and a new body all of that awaits the children of God and therefore the sufferings of this world are not even worthy of comparing with that so whatever it is that we do endure in this struggle the reward that we receive is well worth it athletes in the first century competed to receive a wreath that would just wither away and perish we compete to receive a wreath a crown which cannot be taken away a treasure which cannot rust or decay which moths cannot destroy which thieves cannot break in and steal that is what we get to anticipate it's not even worthy to be compared with the suffering that we endure so the athletic imagery is used to describe the difficulty of suffering because the author is very straightforward there is pain there is loss there is risk there is suffering there is a need to endure you need strength you're gonna you're gonna face tribulations and reproaches all of that but you're gonna need discipline and endurance to do it and we are called to bear up under it it is not easy which is why he uses the word conflict of sufferings and that word that's translated sufferings there is the most generic word that he could have used to describe suffering it describes all kinds of suffering it describes anything that is contrary to us anything that is hard or afflictive to us in our nature if you just wanted to use a word that could describe any kind of suffering from any source for any reason this is the word he uses it's the most generic word he could have used in fact the word is used twice in the same passage in 1st
02:30:58: Peter chapter 4 once to describe the suffering of unbelievers for committing sins and another to describe the suffering of believers for doing righteousness so it is used to describe those who would commit a sin and suffer for it and those who would do righteousness and suffer for it 1st
02:31:13: Peter chapter 4 make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or thief or an evildoer or a troublesome meddler but if anyone suffers as a
02:31:20: Christian he is not to be ashamed but is to glorify God in that name it's just the most generic term can just apply to believers or unbelievers can apply to any kind of suffering and there are by the way just to be a further encouragement to you there are by the way all kinds of sufferings we can endure bodily sufferings and spiritual sufferings emotional sufferings physical sufferings financial sufferings in your reputation loss of opportunities we might go without things that we otherwise might have had if we were not
02:31:46: Christians and we were not faithful to the Lord we may lose relationships and friendships or connection with close family members your
02:31:54: Christian faith could cost you a promotion a business deal or even having your property seized this is the beautiful thing about sufferings there's all kinds of them there's so many different kinds it is almost like you can live a whole life in this world and just go from one kind of suffering to another and never exhaust the supply of sufferings that could be reserved for you that's the beautiful thing about it not only are there all kinds of sufferings there's all kinds of sources of suffering you might suffer at the hand of government magistrates or business partners or neighbors or friends co -workers customers or spouses children or one time church members who are now apostates there's almost an endless source to your suffering there's a number of causes of your suffering there's almost no end to the potential of things that could cause your suffering you might suffer because you are a school teacher and you refuse to teach something in a public school system that is contrary to your world view or to scripture and you refuse to do that or you may be the employee of a large corporation and you refuse to list your preferred pronoun and bow your knee to the spirit of the age and the gender insanity and mental illness that seems to be creeping in everywhere and you could lose your job for that or you might suffer simply because you refuse to go along with a friend or a family member or a relative who has decided that they have a different gender or a different sexual orientation than what which they were born with or that which they preferred up to that point and you refuse to call it okay and say it's okay and live with it and just go along with it and pat them on the back and affirm their lifestyle all of those things can cause you suffering you might find that you are a photographer or a flower arranger or a cake baker and all of a sudden you refuse to do one of those services for something that violates your conscience and then the whole world wants to shut you down close your business fine you put you in prison this is the beautiful thing about suffering there's almost no end to the number of ways that you can suffer and there's no end to the degrees of suffering either it's another beautiful thing about suffering you can endure anything from people rolling their eyes at you as you walk away to burning you at the stake and in between is this massive spectrum of kinds of suffering and degrees of suffering we are subject to all of those when the author says that you have endured a great conflict of sufferings he is talking about the struggle and the weight of all kinds of things that come upon Christians this is why scripture uses the word various trials to describe our suffering consider all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials all kinds multifaceted multicolored now what happens when you have different sources different kinds different causes different degrees of suffering and you take all of those and you combine them together if you have an endless list of things that can cause it and an endless list of ways that you can suffer and an endless list of kinds of suffering and then you can just sort of hand pick between one of those any of those you can create literally this multifaceted myriad of kinds of suffering it's like a beautiful mosaic isn't it
02:34:47: I'm intentionally trying to get you to look forward to suffering that's part of my agenda of being up here to open us up to the reality that scripture describes for the
02:34:58: Christian various trials and therefore we should expect it expect the fight expect the struggle expect the difficulty see expect to bear up under it and expect to endure and expect to know the
02:35:12: Lord's faithfulness in those times of trial whatever it is that he calls you to endure this is what Peter meant when he said in 1
02:35:17: Peter chapter 4 beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you you hear
02:35:26: Peter's almost a slight note of sarcasm don't be surprised at this as if something strange were happening to you what did you expect when you went from darkness to light did you expect the darkness to love you what did you expect from swearing your allegiance to everything ungodly and hostile to the faith in this world and swearing your allegiance to the one who is outside of this world who is going to judge this entire world for swearing their allegiance to all the things of this world what did you expect as a result of that you ought to expect hostility therefore don't be surprised at the fiery ordeal as if something strange were happening to you it's not strange at all
02:35:59: Peter said instead he says to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing so also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exultation you rejoice now in the midst of that suffering not because you enjoy the pain but because you look forward to seeing that which is unseen the fact that you have a better and a more lasting possession than anything this world will take away from you that is the cause of your joy and fix your eyes and your hope there and upon that and you will endure a great conflict of suffering now that is all that we have time for today without getting into any of the details that the author does here
02:36:38: I'm not going to pretend to be surprised that we only got through that one phrase because I wrote the sermon but I will pretend to be as disappointed in that as you are and next week we will tackle the specifics of what they had endured and how they viewed those things and we just dealt with the general things today
02:36:55: I've spoken today of the suffering of Christ that he endured suffering for our sake and the fact that we are called to suffer with him and to share with him in those sufferings the purpose of his suffering was redemptive it was atoning there was a salvific element to his suffering when we suffer and share in Christ's suffering we're not in any way paying for our sin nor are we paying for the sins of others nor are we making any kind of atonement for iniquity
02:37:22: Christ's suffering has accomplished that in full he suffered in our stead bearing our burden on the cross bearing the weight of all of our sin past present and future so that we may look forward by faith and through repentance we may look forward to that glory which is to come to us as his children that was his suffering when we suffer we suffer not in place of Christ but we suffer the same kinds of sufferings that he endured consider him who experienced such hostility from sinners so that you too may take courage in that and not lose heart we look at his suffering and it is atoning it is redemptive but it is also instructive for us as to how we are to endure the same kinds of suffering in this world those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ we have cast our lot in with him we have pledged our allegiance and our fidelity and our faithfulness to him in our repentance and faith and in doing so we ought to expect that we will endure something some taste of what the world threw at him some taste of the hostility and the opposition and the affliction that it poured out on him his suffering paid the price for our sin and our suffering does not pay any price for sin so as we gather together at the
02:38:34: Lord's table we are we are looking at the cost of our redemption we are looking at the cost of our salvation that it cost him his body and his blood and that in his flesh
02:38:44: God the Father prepared a body for him and taking that body upon himself he offered up as a sacrifice for any and all who will believe upon him and in the cost of that one payment for sin there is redemption for any who will trust in him turn from their sin and believe upon him we do not deserve the gracious offer of salvation we do not deserve to have our sins forgiven it is all of grace it is all the work of God we do not contribute to that one bit because we have lied and stolen and blasphemed
02:39:14: God's name and we deserve his judgment and instead we look to the one who suffered in our stead and bore the penalty for all of those sins and so many more we have to be aware even as we sit here of not just our own sin but of the fact that we have sinned thousands of times without even knowing it and we have sinned thousands of times tens of thousands of times without ever confessing it or acknowledging it and most of the sins that we have committed are lost to our memory but they are not lost to his memory and he paid for all of those our known sins and our unknown sins in his body on the cross by bearing the weight of our salvation and the weight and the cost of the wrath of God for our sin so before we pray
02:39:55: I would just encourage you and remind you that if you are a Christian and you are living in unrepentant and continual and habitual sin
02:40:02: I'm calling you now to repent of that and to turn from it and to seek forgiveness and faithfulness and endurance and grace at the cross of Christ and in the memory of his sacrifice if you are not a believer here today you've never repented of your sin and trusted
02:40:19: Christ for salvation and born again let the elements pass from you nobody's going to judge you this is not for you this is for those who are saved who are believers who belong to Christ I would call you if you are not a believer to repentance and faith in Christ or you will face the judgment that is to come described in verse 31 it's a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living
02:40:36: God so let's take a few moments we'll bow our heads and take a few moments to pray together and I'll have a couple moments of silent prayer and at this time
02:40:44: I'd ask the ushers to come forward and stand with me up front and after we pray we'll partake together my
02:41:16: Lord we know of our sin we are aware of our sin but not even the full weight of it or the full penalty of it we know that we are sinners and for that reason we have sought refuge and comfort and payment atonement in the person of your son and we are grateful that you have provided a sacrifice that is sufficient to atone for all of our sin and all the weight of the burden that we bear before that we would have bared before you we thank you that Christ has taken it he has taken it out of the way so that now there is no condemnation for us so we come to you and we acknowledge our sin we acknowledge our iniquity we pray for that forgiveness the restoration of that relationship we pray for strength to mortify sin in its every form we pray that you would fill our hearts with love and joy as we reflect upon what
02:41:59: Christ has done for us in bearing our sin bearing our burden and taking it far away we thank you for this great gift of salvation and for the cost of it which was borne by your son in his name we pray on the night in which our
02:45:03: Lord was betrayed he took the bread and when he had broke it he said take, eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me in the same manner also after supper he took the cup and said this is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me
02:48:33: Heavenly Father I just come to you this morning with a grateful heart I thank you for the atoning work that you've done in saving us from our sins
02:48:41: Lord I just pray today Lord that as we worship you together and obeying your commands of remembering what you have done
02:48:50: Lord that we would just desire to have lives that would glorify you and bring honor to your name and I just pray that we would remember that we would remember that we would we would remember that we would remember that we would that we would remember we would we would we would we would that we would remember that we would remember remember remember remember my heart is filled with great hope gratefulness to him who bore my pain who marked the death of grace and gave who crushed
02:54:31: He washed my curse of sinfulness and clothed me in His light.
02:54:40: And He robed me full of righteousness with power of boldness to Him who walks beside.
02:55:08: Who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly.
02:55:19: Whose every promise is enough for every step
02:55:27: I take. Sustaining me with arms of love and crowning me with praise.