EXPECT – REJOICE – EVALUATE – ENTRUST 01/02/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

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What is the recipe for fruitful evangelism?

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What is it that will ensure our success in all of our evangelistic efforts?

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What is it that will most please the Lord God in our evangelistic efforts? 1

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Peter 3 15 says, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect.

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If you want to be a successful evangelist, if you want to please the

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Lord God in your evangelistic efforts, then you must always be prepared to make a defense.

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You must be able to articulate your knowledge of God, your knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and your knowledge of the gospel.

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You need to be able to rationally explain what you believe and why you believe what you believe, so that when people ask you for a reason for the hope that is in you, you're able to tell them.

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Beloved, if you do not know the reason for the hope that is within you, then how will you be able to communicate and share that hope with others?

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Now as important as this is, being able to give a rational explanation and defense of why you were a

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Christian, this is not the main ingredient for successful evangelism. The main ingredient for successful evangelism is to honor

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Christ the Lord as holy in your hearts. To honor Christ the

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Lord as holy in your hearts is to adore Christ as Lord. It is to exalt

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Christ as Lord. It is to magnify Christ as Lord. It is to give the primary place in your heart to Christ as Lord, acknowledging his sovereignty, acknowledging his majesty, acknowledging his lordship and kingship over all.

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Before you can be ready to make a defense, the Lord Jesus Christ must be preeminent in your heart.

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The Lord Jesus Christ must be preeminent in your life. The Lord Jesus Christ must be

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Lord. And only then can we truly be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us.

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The hope that is within us is the gospel. The hope that is within us is the good news.

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It is the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The hope that is within us is God incarnate, God becoming man and entering into history, living a perfect life, accomplishing the will of God the

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Father, fulfilling all the legal demands of the law and standing as a perfect sacrifice in the place of sinners.

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Jesus Christ took upon himself the full weight and the full burden of man's sin and unrighteousness and going to the cross, he then bore the full wrath of God and died a violent death to appease the holiness and the justice of God.

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He accomplished all of this to the glory of the Father and to reconcile sinners to him.

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Beloved, this is the hope that is within us and this is the defense that we are to be ready to proclaim in gentleness, in reverence, to anyone who asks to give an account.

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However, in today's culture our proclamation of hope is not a popular message.

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In today's world of relative truth, political correctness and pluralism, which is the idea that there are many pathways to God, today our message of hope is spurned.

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It is ridiculed and mocked and scorned. The existence of God, the character of God, the works of God as revealed in the

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Scriptures are under constant attack. The veracity of the Scriptures, the truthfulness of the

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Scriptures are under constant attack. The historicity of the Lord Jesus Christ has been twisted and perverted by Gnostic Gospels and fictional books that deny his deity, that deny his person, reducing him to just another religious man.

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A good and well -intentioned man, but a man nonetheless. The biblical message of the exclusivity of the

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Lord Jesus Christ is not only rejected, it is disdained. In the world today it doesn't matter what you believe so long as you are open and affirming to what everyone else believes.

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In fact, in terms of religion you can believe just about anything and be openly accepted by society.

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But the moment that you confess that there is only one way to God, the moment that you confess that there is salvation in no one else, the moment you confess that those who reject the

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Lord Jesus Christ will perish in an eternal fire of God's wrath, at that moment you will be hated and you will be persecuted.

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Charles Spurgeon once said that if you really long to save men's souls, then you must tell them a great deal of disagreeable truth.

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To the ears of the world, the truth of God is highly disagreeable. The world does not want to hear

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God's truth because the world is in darkness. The world has chosen darkness over the light.

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You see, to engage in the culture is to engage in a spiritual battle. And our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

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Our struggle is not against the world that we see. It is against the world that we do not see.

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It is against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this present darkness. It is against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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Regardless of this opposition, the exclusive gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ must be faithfully proclaimed.

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And to proclaim the truth of God, the whole truth of God, will often bring suffering.

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It will bring persecution. But as the Puritan John Trapp said in the 1600s, truth must be spoken however it is taken.

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Please join with me in your Bibles to the book of 1st Peter. Our text this morning is 1st

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Peter 4 verses 12 through 19. And this morning we're going to be looking at four principles to remember as we engage our culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures. Let's look at the text together. 1st Peter 4 verses 12 to 19.

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Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though some strange thing were happening to you.

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But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

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If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

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But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler.

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Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify

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God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.

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And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

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

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Beloved, as you evangelize and you engage the culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures, number one, expect suffering. Verse 12.

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Number two, rejoice in suffering. Verse 13. Number three, evaluate your suffering.

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Verses 14 through 18. And number four, entrust yourself to God amidst your suffering.

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Verse 19. As you engage the culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures, expect, rejoice, evaluate, and entrust.

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Now let's unpack each one of these points in a little more detail. As you evangelize and then you engage the culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures, expect suffering. Point number one, expect to suffer.

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Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you.

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Here Peter is very direct and to the point. Persecution is inevitable. Persecution is inescapable.

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For those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, persecution is a certainty.

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At the end of his ministry and his life, in his last letter, the Apostle Paul reminded

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Timothy of this truth. Second Timothy 3 .12. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

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To make a defense for the hope that is within you is to walk directly in the line of the enemy's fire.

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It is to paint a giant target on your back. It is to squarely face off against the adversary and his spiritual forces.

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So do not be surprised when fiery ordeals arrive. You see, a godly life, a life that is pleasing to the

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Lord God, a life that has sanctified Christ as Lord, a life that has sanctified

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Christ the Lord as holy, will expose error. It will expose the error of the world and the sinfulness of the world.

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And it will do this both directly and indirectly. Ephesians 5 .11.

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Paul writes, take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them.

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For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible.

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For anything that becomes visible is light. According to these verses, our responsibility to the

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Lord God goes far beyond merely not participating in the unfruitful deeds of darkness.

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Our responsibility to the Lord God is to instead expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness.

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In Ephesians 5 .11, the word translated expose could also be translated as reproof or correction.

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This term carries with it the idea of confronting error and confronting sin with great prejudice and great intolerance.

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Now sometimes just living a faithful and obedient life, that will be enough.

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The world will get the message. Through our actions and our behavior, even without saying a word, the unfruitful works of darkness will be exposed by our lives.

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A sanctified and holy life will often be a sufficient and powerful rebuke to a sinful world.

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But other times it won't be enough. A silent testimony will only go so far.

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Sometimes in addition to this, an open rebuke in love and gentleness will be necessary.

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In fact, many times an open rebuke will be the most loving response that you can give. Beloved, always remember love that does not expose, love that does not correct error in sin, is not biblical love.

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1 Corinthians 13 .4, love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast.

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It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful.

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It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

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Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Authentic biblical love will seek out the best for the other person.

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It will seek out their greatest good, regardless of the personal cost to you.

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True biblical love will not rejoice with unrighteousness, but rather it will expose unrighteousness.

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It will seek to correct unrighteousness, and it will rejoice with the truth.

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Always remember that those without the Lord Jesus Christ will ultimately perish.

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And what is keeping them from the Lord Jesus Christ is their sinfulness. It is their imperfection. They have missed the holy mark of God's standard.

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They are guilty before the Lord God and stand condemned. And unless they recognize their sin, unless they recognize their great need for a

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Savior, they will most assuredly die in their transgressions.

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The world needs to be shown its error and sinfulness by the light of the gospel, by the light of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. The solution to man's problem is not more love, love that is accepting of sin and accepting of error.

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Rather, the solution to man's problem is love that rejects sin, love that rejects error, love that seeks to purify and to sanctify the love of Jesus Christ.

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Beloved, by loving the world in this manner, by exposing and correcting error and sin, you will face fiery ordeals.

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You will face persecution because this message is an offense. This message strikes at the very heart of the battle.

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Well, what if you don't experience suffering? What if you've never experienced suffering of any kind?

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What if you've never experienced fiery ordeals? What does this mean? Well, there are varying degrees of persecution.

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Not every believer is going to be beaten and maligned for their faith. Not every believer is going to be imprisoned.

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Not every believer is going to be martyred for their faith. But there should be some pushback.

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There should be some opposition in your life as you engage the culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures. Remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples in John 15.

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If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

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If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

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Remember the word that I said to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

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If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me.

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If you've never experienced suffering, persecution, or any other opposition in your life as you have engaged with the culture, then let me suggest to you a couple of possibilities.

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If you're not suffering persecution, it may be that you are on the wrong side of things.

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The world loves its own and you may not be suffering because you may not truly know the

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Lord God. According to Matthew 7, on that day, on the day of judgment, many people will say,

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Lord, I prophesied in your name. I cast out demons in your name. I did many mighty works in your name.

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And the Lord God will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

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On that day, many people will honestly and genuinely think that they are known by God, that they have a relationship with the

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Lord God. But in reality, they don't. Do not presume that because of your profession of faith, this warning does not apply to you.

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This warning applies to each and every one of us. Make sure that you are known by God.

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Another possibility, it could be that you're not suffering persecution because even though you're on the right side of things, you look so much like the other side that you're really not that much of a threat.

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Those who never contend for the truth, those who never expose doctrinal error, those who never confront sin, those who never go out on a limb and proclaim the exclusivity of the

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Lord Jesus Christ, will probably live a relatively easy life without too many bumps, too many surprises.

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I often think about the Christian life, our daily walk through this world, like soldiers who are fighting in an intense and raging battle.

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And there is a front line in this battle where the enemy is met. And here, on the front line, the fighting and the conflict are the most intense, the most severe, the most deadly.

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As a soldier for Christ, on this front line is where we are to be.

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As a soldier for Christ, on this front line is where I want to be. But oftentimes

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I'm not on the front line. I'm ten miles back from the front line, fiddling around with my gear and my equipment.

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My armor is spread out all over the place. My sword is dull and tarnished. I've been inactive for so long my belt doesn't fit quite right.

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The breastplate is a little tight and I can't even find my shoes. I think that many

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Christians live their lives ten miles back from the front lines, some even farther, far away from the immediate danger, far away from the hardships, and far enough back so that they don't do a bit of harm to the enemy.

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Living that far back often ends up doing more harm, more harm to themselves, and more harm to their fellow soldiers than more harm to the enemy.

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One of my favorite seminary professors was named Tim Bucher, and he used to say that he desired his name to be known in hell.

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He wanted the enemies of the Lord God to know his name. In Acts 19, you may remember the account of the seven sons of one

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Sceva, who was a Jewish high priest. In Acts 19, God was performing many great miracles at the hands of Paul.

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Handkerchiefs and aprons were being carried from his body to the sick, and there were many who were being healed.

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So these seven sons were going from place to place and seeking to perform mighty works in the same way, in the name of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And these seven sons approached a man in whom was an evil spirit, saying,

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I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. And you remember the response?

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The evil spirit said, I recognize Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?

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And he overpowered them and subdued them so that the seven sons ran away naked and wounded.

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Beloved, is your name known in hell? Is your name known by the adversary and by the spiritual forces of darkness?

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Is your name known amongst the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ? I want my name to be known.

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I want your name to be known. I want the name of First Baptist Church in Lemonster to be known by the enemies of the cross, everywhere.

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I want our church to make a serious dent in the spiritual battle. I want our church to make a serious dent in the spiritual battle that is raging in central

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Massachusetts. As soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to lock shields with you, to advance the battle lines for the kingdom of God, for the glory of God.

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But make no mistake, this sort of vision will bring about persecution. The enemies of our

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Lord will not easily give away ground, not without a fight. As you evangelize and as you engage the culture with the truth of the scriptures, expect to suffer.

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But don't just expect suffering. Point number two, rejoice in suffering.

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First Peter 4 .13, but rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

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If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

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The phrase that should characterize Christians amidst trials, persecution, and rejection is rejoice and be glad.

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This is the correct attitude that all Christians must possess. Whatever attacks that you may face, no matter the pain, no matter the difficulty, no matter the duration, keep on rejoicing.

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Beloved, recognize that you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Just as he suffered at the hands of sinful men, just as he suffered for doing what is right, just as he suffered for speaking the truth, so we his children, we who bear his name, must also suffer.

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Remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed are those, Matthew 5, who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

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Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Why rejoice? Why be glad? The kingdom of heaven.

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Beloved, the kingdom of heaven is yours. If you are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, that is evidence that you belong.

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That is evidence of your union with Christ. So be glad and keep on rejoicing.

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Paul understood this truth very well. He considered it a privilege to suffer for the

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Lord Jesus Christ. He considered it a privilege to suffer for the sake of the church of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 129, for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.

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That has been granted to us. Engaging in the same conflict that you saw

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I had and now hear that I still have. And again Philippians 310, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in death.

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Paul saw a camaraderie. He saw a close -knit bond between himself and the suffering of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the deepest moments of spiritual intimacy that you will have with the

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Lord God will come during the times of the most intense suffering, the most intense difficulty and persecution.

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Suffering drives the children of God back into the arms of their Heavenly Father. Suffering drives the children of God back to their merciful

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High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who sympathizes with us because he has been tempted in all things as we have, yet without sin.

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Suffering is a privilege and suffering will drive you back into the arms of the

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Lord God. So rejoice and be glad. 2nd

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Corinthians 12 9, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. For power is made perfect in weakness, therefore

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I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

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For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weaknesses. I am content with insults.

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I'm content with hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when

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I am weak, then I am strong. The problem with many churches today is they are not weak enough.

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Many churches today do not rely upon the strength of the Lord. They do not rely upon the truth of the scriptures, but rather they are self -reliant and they rely upon their programs and their methods and their own earthly wisdom.

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Beloved, it is when we are weakest that we are the most strong. Power is made perfect in weakness.

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As you evangelize and as you engage the culture with the truth of God, expect suffering.

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Rejoice in suffering. And point number three, evaluate your suffering.

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1st Peter 4 15 through 16. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

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

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In the midst of suffering, amid persecution, take a good hard look at your suffering.

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Take a good hard look at your circumstances and ask the question, why?

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Why am I suffering? Why am I being persecuted? Is my suffering for the sake of righteousness?

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Is my suffering for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I suffering according to the will of God or is there another reason?

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I can remember a very difficult time in my life when I suffered greatly.

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It was in 1991 and I was in my junior year of high school and my suffering came at the hands of my school administrators who were persecuting me.

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The vice principal moved my locker from the basement, which was the most desirable locker room, to the fourth floor where I was all alone.

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Every day I was made to eat my lunch in the principal's office, separate from all my friends. I had to spend my study halls in the principal's office as well.

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I was banned from driving my car on campus. I had to park down the street out of sight of everyone else.

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And for a time I wasn't allowed to attend any school sporting events. And what had

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I done to deserve such great persecution? None of your business.

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My point is that I was not suffering for the cause of Christ. I was not suffering because of my righteousness.

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I was suffering because of my unrighteousness. I was suffering for my own sinful actions.

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Beloved, evaluate your suffering. Don't suffer as a murderer. If you are a murderer and you go to jail and there you experience difficulty, don't grumble and don't complain because you are reaping what you have sown.

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The same thing goes for thieves. The same thing goes for evildoers. The same thing goes for meddlers.

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Now here's a word that you don't hear every day. Meddlers. A murderer is someone who has killed another person.

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A thief is someone who has stolen another person's property. An evildoer is a general word that describes someone who commits every other crime not covered by murder or theft.

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But who is the meddler? Well it's an interesting word. This word is found only once in the

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New Testament and it's right here in our passage. It's a combination of two

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Greek words. Allotrios meaning stranger and episkopos meaning overseer.

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A meddler is someone who looks over or intrudes into things that belong to someone else.

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A meddler is a busybody who unnecessarily involves themself in someone else's affair.

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Someone who sticks their big nose where it does not belong. A pot stirrer, a rabble rouser.

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What I find interesting about this word is its associated company. It's right up there with murderers, with thieves, and with evildoers.

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Why is that? I think sometimes in our passion to evangelize, in our zeal to evangelize,

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I think Christians can be meddlers. Well -intentioned but meddlers nonetheless.

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Christians often stick their noses where they don't belong. Majoring on minor issues, taking a stand on secondary or tertiary doctrines, or just going about things in the wrong way.

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Troublesome meddling and interfering in other people's affairs is completely out of place for Christians.

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It is destructive, it is shameful, and it can bring reproach upon the name of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and his church. Do not suffer as a murderer.

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Don't suffer as a thief. Don't suffer as an evildoer. Don't suffer as a troublesome meddler.

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Suffer for the right reasons. Suffer as a Christian and do not be ashamed of it.

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Live righteously and suffer to the glory of God. You want to know another reason why we should endure suffering as a

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Christian? Look at verse 17. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.

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And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

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While you may today face intense suffering and difficulty, the agony and outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God will be far, far greater.

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Endure suffering now, which will test, refine, and chasten you, because the alternative is condemnation.

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Always remember that for the Christian, for the child of God, suffering is for your good.

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Suffering is for your spiritual good. Jerry Bridges remarked,

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God uses adversity to loosen our grip on those things that are not true fruit.

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The loss of material substance, the tarnishing of our reputation, the turning aside of friends, or the dashing of our cherished dreams on the rocks of failure, cause us to think about what is important in life.

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We begin to relinquish our desires and expectations, even the good ones, to the sovereign will of God.

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We come more and more to depend on God and to desire only that which will count for eternity.

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The suffering of the unbeliever is an entirely different matter.

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Not only will unbelievers needlessly suffer in this life, but they will also suffer in the next.

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2 Thessalonians 1 5, this is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.

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Since indeed, God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to those who are afflicted, as well as to us, when the

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Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know

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God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the

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Lord, and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

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To those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, not only will their earthly suffering serve no purpose, but they will suffer the eternal fires of destruction, away from the presence of the

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Lord. But for the Christian, our time of fiery trial is now.

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It is now, and so we must live in light of this truth, because the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

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So we must direct our gaze not on the temporal, but on the eternal. As you evangelize, and as you engage the culture with the truth of the scriptures, expect suffering.

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Rejoice in suffering. Evaluate your suffering. And lastly, entrust yourself and your suffering to the

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Lord God. 1 Peter 4, 19. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

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Jeremiah Burroughs remarked, a gracious heart is contented by the melting of his will and desires into God's will and desires.

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That is the excellence of grace. Grace does not only subject the will to God, but it melts the will into God's will, so that they are now but one will.

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What a sweet satisfaction the soul must have in this condition when all is made over to God.

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Beloved, in your suffering, melt your will to God's will. Commit your circumstances, commit your life to the

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Lord God, even amid great hostility. We are called to suffer for the will of God, and we are called to entrust our souls into his capable hands.

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Literally, we are to deposit our souls to the Lord God for protection and safekeeping, because God is our faithful creator.

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Peter uses the phrase faithful creator to remind us that we are simply giving back to God what he has created.

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As our creator, God knows what is best for us. And the Lord God has ordained our circumstances, and he knows how to meet our every need.

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First Peter 2, 21, regarding suffering, he writes, for to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps.

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He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

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When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

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In proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, in confronting sin, in exposing hypocrisy, in exposing error, the

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Lord Jesus Christ knew his actions would bring about suffering. He knew his actions would bring about persecution, and it is his life, his attitudes, his actions, his motives that serve as the example that we must follow.

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Christians are to follow Christ. Sheep are to follow the shepherd. The body is to follow the head.

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Beloved Christ is our example, and we need to follow in his steps.

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The Greek word for steps literally means footprints or tracks, and the picture that comes to mind is a child attempting to walk in the footprints made by his father in the snow or the sand.

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And in a similar manner, we are to follow with extreme diligence and effort the same footprints and the same path that our

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Lord Jesus Christ walked. In our suffering, in our persecution, there should be no sin committed.

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There should be no deceit that is found in our mouths. We should not revile when we are reviled.

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We should not utter back threats, but rather, like Christ, we must wholly entrust our lives into the hands of the

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Lord God, just as the Lord Jesus Christ. As you evangelize and as you engage the culture with the truth of the

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Scriptures, number one, expect suffering. All who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

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So don't be surprised when it happens. Prepare yourselves for this. Arm yourselves with this thinking and expect to suffer.

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Point number two, rejoice in your suffering. Rejoice and be glad because your suffering is not in vain.

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The Lord God is doing something in your life. He is sanctifying you by enhancing your relationship with him, by helping you experience the sufferings of Christ, by exposing in you your remaining sin, and reminding you of your utter helplessness apart from him.

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Number three, evaluate your suffering. Make sure that you are suffering for the right reasons.

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Make sure that your suffering is for righteousness. Do not suffer for unrighteousness.

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Do not suffer for your sin, but suffer for righteousness sake. Suffer according to the will of God.

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Beloved, in all these things, in persecution, in suffering, in difficulty, in hardships, in temptation, point number four, entrust yourself and your circumstances into the hands of your heavenly

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Father. He is faithful. He is the faithful creator.

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He is your faithful creator, so trust in him. Don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though some strange thing were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you share

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Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

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Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler.

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Suffer as a Christian, and do not be ashamed, but glorify

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God in your suffering, and entrust your souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

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Expect, rejoice, evaluate, and entrust. Let's pray.

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Our Father, we recognize our complete helplessness apart from you. Lord, we are wholly dependent upon you, and we thank you for that.

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We thank you for how you have given us so many resources. You've helped us, Lord, walk in holiness.

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You've given us the Word of God. You've given us your Holy Spirit. You've given us the church. You've given us the armor, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness.

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You've given us the helmet. You've given us the shield, the sword, the shoes.

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Lord, I pray that we would utilize these resources, but above all, Lord, help us to remember the

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Lord Jesus Christ and the life that he lived. We pray, Lord, that we would turn to the

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Scriptures and glean the principles that are needed for us to walk in a manner that is pleasing to you.

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We thank you for the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth, and when he was reviled, he didn't revile in return, but he entrusted everything into your capable hands.

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And if the Lord Jesus Christ entrusted all things into your hands, Lord, how much more do we need to do that?

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So help us, Lord, increase our faith. Help us to trust in you more and more, so that when difficulties come, when persecution comes, that we won't be worried, that we won't be fearful, but that we have complete peace because we trust in you.

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Lord, help us to be bold in our evangelizing the world. Help us to be bold as we engage this wicked world with the truth of the

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Scriptures. Help us to share this in love and respect, but above all, Lord, help us to glorify you.