Impractical Christianity Part 4

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Impractical Christianity Part 5

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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. Our reading for this the fifth

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Wednesday in Lent is 1st Peter chapter 4.

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Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

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For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

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For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

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With respect to these, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

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But they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way

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God does. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be self -controlled, sober -minded for the sake of your prayers.

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Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

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As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.

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Whoever speaks is one who speaks the oracles of God. Whoever serves is one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything

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God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever.

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Amen. 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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But rejoice insofar as you share in 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 a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a

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Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify 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? 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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This is the word of the Lord, in the name of Jesus. All right, this is a tough text.

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And you'll note that Peter has spent, and is continuing to spend, quite a bit of time talking about suffering.

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This is not any fun. Who wants to suffer? This is not a Christianity that would seem to draw a large crowd, hence

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I think we're not a megachurch, at least not yet, right? And see, that's the thing.

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And you'll note he uses an important word in this first verse. Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

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I'm sorry, but suffering has never been part of my battle strategy, and yet it is something that Peter here is telling us to look at and to consider.

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I remember well when I first learned, being catechized as a Lutheran, that our baptisms are a weapon that we are encouraged to use against the temptations of the devil in our own sinful flesh.

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Romans 6 makes this very clear. But never in my whole life have I considered the idea of arming myself with the thought of suffering.

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And yet it does make sense if you think about it, but not according to the world. If you remember, it was

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General Patton, at least in the movie Patton, in that famous speech that was given, he says, it is not your job,

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U .S. soldiers, to die for your country. This is not how you win a war. It is your job to make sure that the other guy dies for his country, right?

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And we all sit there and go, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all great. But remember this, Christ himself defeated the devil, the dominions of darkness, the world, everything.

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He defeated everybody through his death. Doesn't make any sense, does it?

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And yet that's exactly what Peter is telling us here. Take a look at what Christ has done. Arm yourselves with this very thought, since therefore

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Christ has suffered in the flesh. Arm yourselves with this same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

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And you'll note that Peter is making it very clear that suffering is a very precious thing. It's a very powerful thing.

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It is a weapon that nobody sees coming. And yet,

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I can honestly say, suffering is for the birds and it's not something I really desire.

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And quite frankly, I've gotten to the point in my life where, as I've suffered, my prayers are, please,

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Christ, enough. I would like to suffer no more. Can you please take this away from me?

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I'm reminded of what John Bunyan wrote, the author of Pilgrim's Progress. Kind of a brilliant man, if you really consider his bodies of works and the depth and magnitude of his understanding of Christianity.

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John Bunyan wrote, I find to this day seven abominations within my own heart.

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Number one, an inclination to unbelief. Yeah. Two, suddenly forgetting the love and the mercy that Christ shows us.

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Yeah, me too. Three, a leaning to the works of the law. Yeah, it's like when you have a deflated tire on your car and it's always pulling to one side.

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We're always kind of heading back towards works of the law. It seems to be our default position.

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Four, wanderings in coldness in prayer. Yeah, I'm guilty of that one, too.

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I'm reminded of Luther's table talk where there was some young fellow who had come to his home.

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Luther liked to invite people and they would stay in for a while. And so during the dinner hour they were talking about the

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Lord's Prayer and this one young fellow said, you know, was actually kind of put off by the fact that Luther talked about his own, well, proclivity towards wandering in his mind even while reciting the

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Lord's Prayer. And this fellow tried to prove his piety and said, well, I can pray a

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Lord's Prayer without my mind wandering. And Luther says, tell you what, if you can pray one

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Lord's Prayer without your mind wandering, I'll let you pick any horse you want out of my stables and you can have that.

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The guy said, you're on, you're on. And so he begins to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, you wouldn't mind if I got the speckled one, would you?

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Yeah, it's a funny story. Five, forgetting to watch for that which

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I have prayed for. Six, a tendency to murmur because I have no more and then at the same time a complete willingness to even abuse the very things that I have.

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And seven, I can do none of those things which God commands me, but my corruptions, they thrust themselves upon me so that when

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I would do good, evil is present with me. This is what

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John Bunyan's assessment of his own self was. He says, these things I continually see and I feel and I'm afflicted and oppressed with, yet the wisdom of God orders them for my good.

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Have you ever considered how our sufferings God uses for our good? And so taking this negative list of seven things,

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John Bunyan even sees that in the midst of this, God is still working, even afflicting him with the suffering of having to deal with his own sinful flesh.

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And he says this, he says, these things I continually see and feel I'm afflicted and oppressed by them, yet God in his wisdom orders them for my good so that one, they make me abhor myself.

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That's a pretty good thing to do. They keep me from trusting my heart.

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They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness. They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus and they press me to pray to God and they show me the need

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I have to watch and stay sober. And they also provoke me to look to God through Christ to help me and to carry me through this world.

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And that's where the cash out is right there. When we go through our sufferings as Christ has ordered us and they are precious in his sight and don't think for a second they don't come from his hand because it is here described in a way that we are participating in the sufferings of Christ that it is through these things that we recognize our complete and utter weakness and our inability to do the very things that Christ has tasked us to do.

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And so we are then left to call out to him and say, Lord, help me.

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Help. And that is a good place to be because when you say,

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Lord, I cannot do this, you are calling out as a creature with limitations to the

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King of kings and Lord of lords who is God of all. So whoever has suffered in the flesh,

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Peter says, has ceased from sin so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

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For the time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, lawless, idolatry.

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Basically sounds like a college fraternity to me. But with respect to this, they are surprised then when you don't join them in the same flood of debauchery.

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And so they malign you. Isn't that the fascinating thing about sin and people who are totally sold out to it and enslaved to it, is that when you don't participate with them, rather than them just saying, well that's your thing, they end up having to go out and malign you and to slander you.

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That's the way it works. But, he says, they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

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And this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in spirit the way

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God does. Kind of an interesting note here. When was the gospel preached to those who are dead?

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The best that we could come up with on pinning that down probably has something to do with Christ's descent into hell.

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Right? And so then Peter warns us and reminds us, the end of all things is at hand.

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And I would argue it's a little bit closer to us today than it was when he penned these words. The end of all things is at hand.

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Because of this, be self -controlled, be sober -minded for the sake of your prayers. And above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

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And see that's the thing, is that with the end of the world being at hand, us having to be made to go through suffering, us being maligned by those sold out to sin, the question is, is how are you supposed to do this by yourself?

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Answer, you're not. We do this together as Christians. And this is why our love for each other is vital.

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So that we can mutually encourage and uplift each other and pray for each other. And when we step on each other's toes, which is inevitably going to happen, forgiving.

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Because love covers a multitude of sins. And then show hospitality to one another.

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And here's the modifier without grumbling. It's not any good to show hospitality to somebody while the whole time they're there, you're in your kitchen, you know, whispering things under your breath and grumbling against them.

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Now, as each has received a gift, so use it to serve another. As good stewards of God's very grace, whoever speaks as one who speaks the very oracles of God.

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That's a little note for pastors. You preach and teach God's Word with authority.

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As if it isn't the oracle of God, because it is. And then whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.

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Listen to that again. Who serves by the strength that God supplies. Even our good works we cannot do apart from Christ.

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So that in order in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Now to him belong the glory, the dominion forever and ever.

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Amen. And then if that's not enough, he's got a circle back around and talk a little bit more about suffering.

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Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you.

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It does not say if, it says when. I remember years ago one of my pastors,

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Pastor Swirla, talking about how when he would be asked to baptize adults, adult wants to be baptized, he'd sit that fellow down or that gal down and say, listen, it is a good thing that you want to be baptized and in no way am

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I trying to talk you out of it. And you need to understand this, that just like the military today, you know, they have guys who go out, they get behind enemy lines and their whole job is to point a laser at a target and light the target up so that the ordnance can become flying in.

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He says as soon as we baptize you, as soon as you are baptized in the name of the Father, the

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Son, and the Holy Spirit, the devil and his demons are going to light you up and there's going to be a big old bullseye on you and that's when the real fiery trials will begin.

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I would be lying to you if I did not tell you this and it is important for you to recognize that when this happens to you, because it will, that nothing has gone wrong.

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This is to be expected. The devil will not stand unopposed in this, in this earth.

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So beloved, don't be surprised at the fire trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you.

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Instead do this, rejoice insofar as you share in Christ's sufferings.

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Rejoice. By the way, the Apostles, Peter himself modeled this for us.

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First time that they were whipped, beaten for proclaiming

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Christ, they went home not feeling sorry for themselves, but rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ.

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And notice this then, that when we suffer, Christ is participating in our sufferings and we are participating in his.

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And this makes perfect sense when you consider what it was that Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus when he knocked him off his horse, blinded him and spoke to him from heaven and said,

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Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And Saul said, who are you

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Lord? I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. So when we suffer and experience the fiery trials that are inevitable to come, not if, but when,

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Peter teaches us to think counterintuitively, to think in light of the gospel, to think in light of the sufferings of Christ as he went to the cross and conquered and defeated the forces of darkness through his suffering and to arm ourselves with these thoughts and that when those trials comes in you, they will, and when they arrive, you are to rejoice that you are sharing in Christ's sufferings and be glad then 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 the 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 a meddler or a gossip or anything like that.

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Those people who suffer because of those things are suffering in the same way that we all suffered when our parents disciplined us when we misbehaved.

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That's not the same kind of suffering. When you suffer that way, you suffer alone. Yet if anyone suffers as a

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Christian, let him not be ashamed. Let him glorify God in that name.

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That's right, don't be ashamed. When you suffer as a Christian, let him glorify

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

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If it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel? Not so good,

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I would say. Not so good at all. And to obey the gospel is to believe that Christ is bled and died for you.

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So if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and of the sinner? So therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while continuing to do good.

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You know, this fourth chapter is just hard. I read this and I say,

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Lord, I can't do this. This is too much for me.

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And I think John Bunyan has helped us understand that to be able to say, Jesus, this is too much for me, is a good thing.

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It's a good thing. And so we arm ourselves then with Christ's suffering.

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We arm ourselves and be prepared to suffer. And when the fiery trial comes, we rejoice.

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And in so arming ourselves, we are able to continue to forgive because Christ, in the midst of his sufferings, when he was nailed to the cross, he did not lash out at those who put him on the cross.

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Instead, he prayed and said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

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And it was there that he bled for your sins and mine. He suffered for you. He suffered for me.

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And so the one who has suffered for us has forgiven us, and he's loved us, and we have been united with him in his death and his resurrection.

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And he, through Peter, has told us to be prepared for the life of a

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Christian is suffering. You will experience persecutions, trials in this lifetime.

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Christ has promised that. If you were looking for rainbows and big bank accounts, you're in the wrong religion.

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It's a different religion altogether, one that actually leads to hell. So, brothers and sisters, have you taken up the weapon of suffering?

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It's been sitting on my office this week, afraid to wield it.

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It's an awkward weapon, not well used, but yet Peter has given us not just good advice.

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He's revealed to us what the Holy Spirit would have us do. So let us rejoice in our sufferings.

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Let us be thankful for the mercy and grace of Christ, who has forgiven us of our sins. And let us then also call out to him and say, we are unable in our own strength to do these good works that you have called us to do.

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Forgive us, Lord, for our weakness. But we are assured by this, that your strength is made perfect in our weakness.

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And when we are weak, then you are strong. Lord, teach us how to arm ourselves with the same mindset that you had that brought you to the cross.

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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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