God's Will for Suffering

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 17th chapter.

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When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and He said, I have manifested

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Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world, Yours they are and were.

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You gave them to Me and they have kept Your word. Now they know that everything that You have given

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Me is from You, for I have given them the words that You gave Me and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You and they have believed that You sent

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Me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom You have given

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Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours and Yours are Mine and I am glorified in them.

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And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which

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You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one. This is the gospel of the

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Lord. In the name of Jesus, amen. All right, here are the words of our epistle text from 1

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Peter 4, verse 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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Whoa, whoa, wait a second here. Does it literally say that God wills for us to suffer?

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Yeah, that's exactly what the text says. We're engaging in exegesis here. So in other words, if you've heard those messages that go something like this,

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God wants you to be blessed. He wants you to be the head and not the tail. He wants you to go from victory to victory, from glory to glory.

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If you've ever heard anyone talk like this, they're not telling you the truth. God has not promised you that you are the head and not the tail, that you will go from victory to victory, from glory to glory.

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If anything, those of you who've lived the Christian life long enough or just lived long enough, it seems like rather than going from glory to glory, we end up going from gory to gorier.

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It just really is not a good thing. So note here what our biblical text says today.

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Our epistle text runs completely contrary to those pastors and preachers, and you have to put them in air quotes, who are scratching itching ears, basically telling you that being a

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Christian, if you just apply yourself, if you just activate your faith, if you just decree and declare, if you just have faith -filled words and create your wonderful future, your life will be nothing but rainbows, unicorns,

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Care Bears, and the Milky Way galaxy bedazzling your life.

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It's nonsense. Nope, it's absolute nonsense. So keep that in mind. And by the way, if you don't believe me, maybe you'd believe

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Jesus. Jesus, in this same gospel, the Gospel of John, just two chapters earlier from our gospel text, in chapter 15, listen to these words from Jesus.

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If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. Oh well, there we go.

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Have you ever heard somebody say, you know, we really like Jesus, but we just don't really like Christians.

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Bah humbug, you don't really like Jesus at all. Here's what Jesus says, if you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.

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Listen to those words again. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. Have you ever stopped and think, you know, is it a good thing that Oprah really, really, really likes

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TD Jakes, that Oprah really, really, really likes Joel Osteen, that Oprah really, really, really likes

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Rob Bell and his theology, and just about every heretic out there?

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I mean, Oprah, as far as I'm concerned, exemplifies what the world's spirituality looks like.

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And well, pastors, if you are the friend, if the world just loves you, is casting accolades on, you can't wait to have you on their program.

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So yeah, well, then there might be a problem here, because Jesus says that if you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.

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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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Okay. So Jesus then goes on to say, remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.

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If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

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Now that sounds like a promise right there. Not a promise that we're going to be the head and not the tail, but a promise that we're going to be hated.

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We're going to be persecuted. We're going to be despised. And well, all for the purpose of the fact that Christ was hated.

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He was despised. He was slandered. He was persecuted. He was murdered. In fact, if the world loves you,

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I would say, based on what Jesus is saying here, you're doing something wrong. You're doing something wrong, all right?

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

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If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

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Whoever hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.

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But now that they have seen and hated both me and the father, but the word that is written in the law must be fulfilled, they hated me without cause.

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So the scriptures cannot be broken. The scriptures have to be fulfilled. And Jesus says here, the reason why people hate him is without cause.

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I mean, what evil has Jesus done? Nothing. He is sinless.

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He has not done any harm to anybody. He has not in any way failed to love his neighbor as himself.

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And he laid down his life so that people can be forgiven. But all of that, then, to kind of say, let's talk about normal Christianity here, because biblically we're not to expect things to go well for us.

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Now, Peter goes on to say in our epistle text at the beginning of it,

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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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Fiery trials. Now, let's talk about different types of fiery trials, shall we? Now, I know that right now the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns and whether or not to open up states and whether or not to permit churches to gather publicly, permit, in air quotes there, to allow them to meet publicly has all of a sudden become the thing to talk about.

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You see, last week, if you're not familiar with what's going on here in Minnesota, although I'm technically in North Dakota right now,

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Governor Walz of Minnesota, well, he was given a letter from an attorney, an attorney representing both the

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Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Now, a little bit of a note here.

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Normally the LCMS and the Roman Catholic Church don't see eye to eye. They just normally don't.

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But in this particular case, not only do they see eye to eye, they decided that they needed to work together.

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And here's the reason why, is because as Governor Walz has been reopening the state, he's been a little bit slow, shall we say, in permitting churches to come back together.

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The Mall of America reopened, yeah, liquor stores are back in business in Minnesota.

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But well, churches, you know, it was a little slow. So what did Trump do?

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Trump got involved. Trump got involved, and Trump decided that he was going to declare all churches to be essential.

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Now, this is all interesting, but the most interesting part is what happens next.

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What happens next is the liberal media and unbelievers have lost their minds, okay?

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It's very fascinating. So for instance, the Minnesota Star Tribune covered what

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Trump did and said Trump's threats intensify tensions over reopening places of worship.

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When you look at the different headlines from around the globe, especially in the United States today, I mean, the news feed is flooded, flooded with story after story how churches are now considered to be super spreaders, not just spreaders of the coronavirus, churches are now super spreaders of the virus.

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And there's story after story after story, including one from the New York Times, how a church down in Mississippi was burned to the ground because they were holding services contrary to the demands of their governor.

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And you're sitting there going, what is going on? Negative story after negative story.

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But my favorite thing from the Star Tribune account was that the Star Tribune decided that they were going to talk to religious leaders who were expressing frustration, frustration that Trump would dare to declare churches to be essential.

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And so here's a quote. This is a quote from Pastor Natalia Turfa.

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Pastor Natalia? So she's a Prince of Peace Lutheran in Brooklyn Park, clearly

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ELCA. So she said, I don't need the president to tell me I'm essential and need to open.

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So you'll note that it seems to be quite fascinating in the midst of all of this that the ability to gather together for the purpose of hearing

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God's word, of worshiping God, of receiving the sacraments, all of a sudden,

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I mean, you are public enemy number one. And what are they going to do? They're going to quote female pastrixes against those who would want to gather together?

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It's very interesting. Now, I would note that this does not constitute overt persecution of Christianity.

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But the thing you should be taking note of is how all of this is kind of playing out.

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Because people are already starting to talk about right now, what does a post -corona pandemic world look like?

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Well, there's got to be changes. We can't go back to the way we were. And already there are some, already there are some who are politically minded, in power, who are making statements to the effect of that we may never be able to go back to normal, may never be able, ever, ever again.

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And what's kind of first on the list of things that have got to go? Churches, church services, kind of a fascinating thing.

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So pay attention to that because we may be facing some hot topics in the future.

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But that's not the only way, by the way, we experience fiery trials. Let me tell you another way.

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When you believe and you proclaim that Jesus Christ is King of kings, that he is

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Lord of lords, that he has bled and died for your sins and mine, for the sins of the world, and you call people to repent and to be forgiven for the sake of Christ.

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When you post things on Facebook or Twitter that are biblically true, you are risking, well, all kinds of persecution.

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Maybe you say something to the effect of that scripture says that there is no other name given by which we must be saved than in Jesus Christ.

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Well, some granola crunching tree hugger with a coexist bumper sticker on the back of her

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Prius is going to get really upset, is going to get really upset at that and might screech to high heaven, even might report you to Facebook for a community terms of service violation.

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And you might be put into Facebook prison or jail. Or that's one thing that could happen.

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But also within the church, note this, within the church that the devil has sent in people who are false converts.

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And they seem to be really well -versed, and I mean this with everything fiber of my being, they are well -versed in slander and gossip, all right?

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And you'll note that Jesus says that the devil, when he is lying, is speaking his native language.

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And so you always need to be careful of the Christian brother or sister who is merely expressing concern while gossiping and murdering the reputation of fellow believers in church or leaders or pastors.

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I would note that it seems to become a normal thing for me to receive slander my direction.

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And in fact, when things are going well in my life and we have a period of time where it's been a while since somebody has decided to attack me and slander me, my wife and I get nervous.

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We get anxiety when things are going well, because we know it's just a little bit more time and things are going to come unglued again.

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And I would note that in this past week and a half, there was a fellow, a very well -known, charismatic,

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Calvary Chapel -esque, catalogical kind of focused guy, who said that I, me personally,

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Chris Rosebro, is out there teaching the world how to worship the

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Antichrist so that when he appears, they will take the mark of the beast. I'm not making that up.

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And it's not just me. Some other fellows who do discernment work, like Justin Peters, Todd Frill, Phil Johnson, we're all apparently preparing the foundation so that Christian believers will worship the devil incarnate when he shows up.

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And it's just crazy. So I contacted Justin Peters and I said, did you hear what this fellow said about us, that we're doing this?

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And Justin Peters' response was, I thought that we were being careful not to be overt on this.

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We need to redouble our efforts to hide our intentions. So he was talking tongue -in -cheek, by the way.

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It's just crazy. So I mean, now that's an absurd example. But the reality is this, is that when people do this, especially people with a large following, it does hurt.

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It hurts when people lie about you, slander you. It hurts when people refuse to treat you with any kind of Christian charity or kindness within the

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Christian church. But all they seem to be busy doing is gossiping and slandering and all this kind of stuff.

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So what should we think when this happens to us or when this happens to our pastor? Answer, this is normal.

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This is what our text says. So do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes.

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Not if, when. When it comes, it comes to test you as though something strange were happening to you.

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So when you see these things happening, when you're persecuted, when you're slandered, when you are made to suffer for your confession of Christ, the scripture says here in verse 13, rejoice.

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What? I thought I was supposed to feel sorry for myself. I feel bad.

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I mean, people are lying about me and they're making me feel like I'm stupid or something. Yeah, well, that's called normal Christianity.

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So when this happens, rejoice. And the only way we're capable of doing this is by faith.

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How? Because there's a reality here on earth that exists because of our sin that is not true of the reality of where we stand before God.

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Remember, Christ has died for your sins. You are bled for, you are died for. And so Jesus says that when you are made to suffer in his name, that you are blessed.

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So you'll note that when the apostles first got scourged, the first time they had the whip thrown across their backs for proclaiming

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Jesus, they left that day from prison, not going, help, I need medical attention, does anyone have any penicillin?

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No, they didn't do that. They left rejoicing, rejoicing that they were found worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Christ.

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So nothing strange is happening to you. Rejoice insofar then as you share in Christ's sufferings so that you may 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, not cursed.

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You are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But note here, there is a warning.

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Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a meddler. If the reason you're suffering is because you're a jerk, it's not because you're a

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Christian. It's because you're a jerk. So that's how that works. So if somebody says, you know what, you're just a jerk, praise

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God, rejoice, I'm suffering for Jesus. No, you're not. You're suffering because you're a jerk. And note the list here.

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It includes murderers, thieves, evildoers, and meddlers.

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What's a meddler? You guys remember Mrs. Kravitz? Remember Mrs. Kravitz from the Bewitched? She was always peeking in the window.

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She was always looking for that juicy bit of salacious gossip so she can get on the phone and tell everybody what was really going on.

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She was a meddler. She was a gossip. And you'll note that meddlers show up in the same list as murderers.

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And this is appropriate. So meddling for Jesus, gossiping for Jesus, it ain't a thing, okay?

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And you're not being persecuted if somebody says, you're breaking the commandment that says thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.

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You say, I'm only sharing the truth. I'm only sharing the truth. No, you're not. No, you're not.

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So if you're suffering because of that, you're suffering rightly and you need to repent. But note then, if anyone suffers as a

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Christian, let him not be ashamed. And you'll note, that's what the world is trying to basically do to us right now, to make us feel like we are stupid, that we are somehow subpar in our thinking, that we've got some kind of a mental disorder, our mamas didn't raise us right.

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You know, because I mean, you guys really believe that Jesus is the only way? Come on.

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You really believe that God created the world in six days? Yeah, actually we do.

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What's wrong with you? You're a science denier. You believe that Jesus rose bodily from the grave?

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Everybody knows that that's just a metaphor talking about how in springtime, the flowers and the grass and the trees come back to life.

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Everybody knows that. What's wrong with you? And you'll notice here, it's always you're the problem because you believe what the

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Scriptures say. They're trying to make you feel ashamed. But don't be ashamed. Let him glorify

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God in his name. And then you'll note, it's time for judgment to begin at the household of God.

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And so these sufferings have a tendency to be a form of judgment within the household of God, because Jesus himself points out the fact that there are people who hear the

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Word of God and it springs up, but they have no root within them.

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And as soon as there is suffering, as soon as there is persecution, as soon as there is a cross, these people fall away.

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And this is most certainly true. So it's time for judgment to begin with the household of God. It begins with us.

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What will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel? And what does it mean to obey the gospel?

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To believe, to trust that Jesus has bled and died for your sins. So note then, if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

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So therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

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And yes, God wills for us to suffer. Christ promised us suffering.

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He did not promise you health. He did not promise you wealth. He promised you suffering and persecution.

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So what do we do in the midst of all of this? Peter says, humble yourselves. And you'll note that the person who thinks that somehow that they can decree and declare and command a great life, obedient children, perfect health, divine wealth, and all this kind of nonsense, having the corner office, being promoted at work, having that really expensive bank account where it allows you to travel to all the five diamond resorts around the world, that person isn't humble.

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That person is as prideful as prideful gets. But you'll note that our sufferings do humble us.

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And it is God's will for us to suffer. So what do we do in the midst of this? We say, well, this is the

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Lord's will. So I'm going to humble myself. But listen to what it says, humble myself under the mighty hand of God.

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You see, so that the proper time he may exalt you.

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You see, there's a time coming when the world as it presently is will pass away. And all of the values of the world and the things that it holds dear, they're all going to perish.

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And what's going to be left is God's kingdom and the things that are valuable to him.

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And on that day when Jesus returns, he will exalt you. You don't need to worry about it.

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Are you kicked to the curb, cast down, beaten down by the world, made to suffer? Not to worry,

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Christ will exalt you in the proper time. So in the meantime, cast all your anxieties on him.

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Why? Because he cares for you. In fact, Christ cares so much for you that he bled and died so that you can be forgiven.

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Forgiven of all of your sins, not some of your sins. He did not come for good people.

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He came for the ungodly. And that's you and that's me. And not only that, our Gospel text today shows us that Christ cares for us also enough that he prayed for you and me.

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And see, you'll note then, Jesus in our Gospel text in verse 9 says, Keep them in your name which you have given me so that they may be one even as we are one.

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So Christ cares for you. Cast all your anxieties on him.

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Yeah, it's not easy. Cast all your anxieties upon him. He cares for you.

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He bled for you. He died for you. He rose for you. He ascended to the right hand of the

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Father for you. And there he continues to intercede and to pray for you.

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So be sober -minded. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

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And now you kind of see the gist of what's going on here. What has God done in Scripture?

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He's given us the devil's playbook. We know exactly how to read the signs and the signals of the devil and his strategy.

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So when these things happen to us, we can say, that's right, Jesus told us what the devil was going to do ahead of time.

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So what do we do when the devil's prowling around seeking to devour us or you? Well, real simple.

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You resist him. Stand your ground. How? Firm in your faith. Firm in your belief that you are forgiven.

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Firm in your faith that you believe that you have eternal life as a gift given.

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Keeping your eyes on the hope that is to come. And note then that knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

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And indeed, Christians around the world are sufferings. And we know this. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, that the season of history that seems to be coming quickly to a close that we have been enjoying here in the

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United States and in Western Europe and Australia, where Christianity had some at least street creds, was viewed with respect, which is now quickly coming to an end, that this time in history was an anomaly?

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And that everything that our Christian brothers and sisters are experiencing in Muslim countries, in countries that are hostile to the gospel, that that's normal?

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So you'll note things are coming back to normal for us. And we, as well as our brothers and sisters around the world, are experiencing these same kinds of suffering.

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But note then, after you have suffered for a little while, and it really is only a little while, after you have suffered for a little while, the

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God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore. He will confirm, he will strengthen, and he will establish you.

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You see, brothers and sisters, the suffering that we experience in this life is nothing compared to the glory we will see with our own eyes when

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Jesus returns. And it really is a little while. I say this with some frequency, but it bears repeating.

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I mean, look at me. I'm getting older by the second. The gray hair is becoming more pronounced.

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But yesterday, I was 18 years old. I had a 28 -inch waist.

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I had six -pack abs because I was a swimmer. And I was a fine specimen of just glorious manhood.

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And look, something has terribly gone wrong, okay? It's like watching a train wreck, you know.

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But here's the thing. I was 18 yesterday.

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That's what it seems like. And the reality is this. At 52, how much longer do you think

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I got? 20, 30, maybe 40 years if everything goes right?

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You know, if that's true, you know what that means, right? That means tomorrow, I die.

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If I was 18 yesterday and I'm 52 today, that means tomorrow, I'm dead.

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And so that's the idea. Our sufferings are just a little while. We are made to suffer for such a brief amount of time.

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It will come to an end. And at the end of all of this, the God of all grace, the

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God of rich grace, the God who forgives you richly for all of your sins, he is the one who has called you to his eternal glory.

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You are on your way to the new earth, the kingdom of God here on earth, seeing with your own eyes the risen

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Christ. He himself then, he's going to restore you. He's going to confirm you.

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He's going to strengthen. He's going to establish you. And so this is the mentality.

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This is the faith that we then arm ourselves with, knowing that what we see right now is not really what is reality.

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It's a distorted, sinful reality. But all of it is coming to an end quickly. If not before Jesus comes, well, at least then by the time we die, which is going to be soon enough.

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So note then, suffering, it's not something unusual. It is usual.

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It is normal Christianity. It is the will of God for us to suffer. These are the plans of the devil to make us suffer, to make us be put to shame.

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But through these sufferings, God tests our faith, strengthens our faith. And so brothers and sisters, stand firm against the devil, firm believing that you are forgiven, that you are pardoned, that you have been received into God's family, adopted, all of your sins pardoned, and believe that you have been written into the will and are going to receive an eternal inheritance, all by the gracious grace and mercy of God.

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And do not worry if you are made to suffer or be put to shame, if you are banned from Facebook or forbidden from worshiping in public.

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Do not worry. God himself will restore, confirm, and strengthen and establish you all for the sake of Jesus Christ.

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So to him be the dominion forever and ever from the ages into the ages.

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In the name of Jesus, amen. If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950, 470th

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Avenue, Northwest, Oslo, Minnesota, 56744. And again, that address is

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Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950, 470th

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Avenue, Northwest, Oslo, Minnesota, 56744. We thank you for your support.

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