July 18, 2004
Service Theme - "Our God Feels Our Pain"
1 Peter 3:13-22; 4:12-19
Picked on and Persecuted
I. Introduction
A. Illustration - Thomas a Kempis, in his book The Imitation of Christ, wrote, It is good that we at times endure opposition, and that we are evilly and untruly judged, when our actions and intentions are good. Often such experiences promote humility, and protect us from vainglory. For then we seek God's witness in the heart (as cited on PreachingToday.com).
B. Context - Suffering is something we all struggle with. It's hard enough when we suffer because of an illness or injury or because a loved one is suffering. But when we're doing the right thing and we get nailed for it anyway, that's really tough. But as Thomas a Kempis reminded us, God will use our suffering for His glory if we let Him. Let's read more about it in two passages from 1 Peter that are closely related, chapter 3 verses 13-22 and chapter 4 verses 12-19, and I'm reading from the New Living.
II. Scripture Passage
A. 1 Peter 3:13-22; 4:12-19 (from the New Living) - (NEW SLIDE) Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't be afraid and don't worry. (NEW SLIDE) 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. (NEW SLIDE) Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! (NEW SLIDE) 18 Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. (NEW SLIDE) 19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison-20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. (NEW SLIDE) 21 And this is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience. (NEW SLIDE) 22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers are bowing before him.
B. 4:12-19 - Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. (NEW SLIDE) 13 Instead, be very glad-because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world. (NEW SLIDE) 14 Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. (NEW SLIDE) 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his wonderful name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin first among God's own children. (NEW SLIDE) And if even we Christians must be judged, what terrible fate awaits those who have never believed God's Good News? 18 And "If the righteous are barely saved, what chance will the godless and sinners have?" (NEW SLIDE) 19 So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.
III. Suffering Isn't the End of the World
A. I know that's a lot of territory to cover, but there are some basic principles that run through these two passages. When you're doing an inductive Bible study of our passage in chapter three, what's the main idea of the text? Any ideas? (NEW SLIDE) The central idea of the text is that God made good even of Christ's suffering, so He can make just as much good of our suffering, too. What's the main idea of the text in our passage in chapter four? Any ideas? The central idea of this text is that God made good even of Christ' suffering, so He can make just as much good of our suffering, too. Peter repeats this theme in these two passages, using different points to illustrate it and bring applications out of it. So if God can make just as much good out of our suffering as He did of Christ's suffering, how do we apply this truth to our lives? Peter gives us some great principles here.
B. (NEW SLIDE) First, God's going to reward us for doing what is right, so we've got to focus our lives on living worshipfully before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The problem is that we tend not to, only calling on God when we're hurting or in trouble, or for a few minutes each morning and evening and calling it "devotions." When we don't live in constant communication with God and in constant consideration of what He wants us to be doing from moment to moment, we are not living a lifestyle of worshipfully bowing before the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And then, when somebody comes along and asks us about our faith, we're totally unprepared. It doesn't matter if we've written down and memorized the best testimony in the world - if it's not empowered by the Holy Spirit as a result of our constant worship of Him, we're unprepared. The soil of the other person's heart will not have been softened, and our own hearts will be unable to hear what the Spirit is whispering to guide us in sharing in the exact way that person needs to hear the gospel. We've got to focus our lives on living worshipfully before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
C. (NEW SLIDE) Second, God treasures all people so much that He will use our suffering to bring them to Himself. Verse 16 - Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! I remember Duane sharing several weeks ago about someone who was supposedly a Christian that was so obnoxious about sharing his faith that he literally invited suffering. That kind of person will get no reward for suffering that way from God. (NEW SLIDE) You see, God wants us to endure suffering like Jesus did, through literally being "living holiness" by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that those who watch us will come to know Him. That's a mouthful, to be sure, but God cares very deeply for those who don't know Him. God doesn't want them to just be ashamed - He could do that very easily on His own without using our lives. He wants that shame to cause people to come to know Him through our witness in the midst of suffering. Verse 19 tells us that God values everyone so much that Christ, when He was in hell, preached to those who died in their sins in the time of Noah. While that can be a little difficult to stomach, and I'm not sure I understand all of the theological implications of this passage, it proves that God treasures all people so much that He will use our suffering to bring them to Himself. After all, He used Jesus' suffering to bring us to Him.
D. (NEW SLIDE) Third, God wants us to understand that suffering is a normal part of a Christian's life. Chapter four verse 12 - Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad-because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world. 14 Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you. It's tough to be glad that we suffer - in fact, it almost seems crazy! When my arthritis is killing me, I'm not glad to be suffering. When people unjustly criticize me because I'm doing what Jesus wants me to, which happens to all of us, I'm not glad to be suffering. But I don't think we are supposed to be glad about the pain we experience. I believe we're supposed to be glad to be suffering because of the end result as we allow God to touch us and change our hearts in the midst of the suffering. We're to be glad that God is using the suffering to change us into His likeness. (NEW SLIDE) When we suffer for Christ's sake and allow Him to work through that suffering, He fills us with His Spirit and begins to clean out all of the impurities in our hearts and lives so that we are transformed to be like Him. That's the main goal of being a Christian - transformation to be like Him. That's why I try not to grouse too much about pain, and I know I probably do more than I realize, but I try not to because I know what I'd be like without it and how Jesus has been able to transform me because of it. Suffering can make us more like Jesus if we let it. It's going to happen, so we might as well benefit from it!
E. (NEW SLIDE) Fourth, it is stupid and downright dangerous for us to suffer because of sin. Peter gives a short list in verse fifteen of what not to suffer for: 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. Those are the basics, but the point Peter is trying to make is that suffering because of sin is just plain stupid and dangerous. Stupid because then we suffer needlessly. Dangerous because God is going to begin judgment day with Christians, and it will be tough enough for them to get in. What does that mean? (NEW SLIDE) Not everybody who claims to be a Christian is going to get in to heaven. Only those who not only proclaim their faith in Christ, but also live it by walking in obedience to Christ will get into heaven. And if judgment is that harsh for us, what will it be like for those who don't know Jesus? Eternal spiritual death - that's what it will be, so Peter's exhortation for us is to make sure we live in such a way that we don't get the book thrown at us on judgment day.
F. We can be thankful that Peter doesn't end with a warning, but with an encouragement. Verse 19 - So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you. (NEW SLIDE) Walk in obedience with Christ, keeping a lifestyle of worshipping Him as Lord, and He'll take care of the rest. And that is really all the reassurance we need. Suffering for Jesus is worth it in the long run, and we've all got to keep that reality in our hearts and minds if we're going to allow Him to transform us. After all, Jesus is all that matters.
G. Illustration - Edwin Tait writes, In 370 A. D., Basil of Caesarea, one of the "church fathers," became the archbishop of Caesarea, which brought him into conflict with the Arian emperor Valens. In an attempt to intimidate the stubborn bishop, Valens sent the prefect of the imperial guard, Modestus, to threaten him with punishment. Basil answered that he was ready and eager to die for Christ, and that he had so few possessions that banishment, confiscation, or imprisonment would mean nothing to him. When Modestus complained that no one ever talked to him like that, Basil answered that perhaps he had never met a bishop before: (NEW SLIDE) "When the interests of God are at stake, we care for nothing else" (as cited on PreachingToday.com). Do we have the perspective on suffering that Basil had? What do we need to allow God to do in our hearts to change us so that we have God's perspective on suffering?
IV. Conclusion
A. Please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for God and for each other's privacy. What's God been speaking to your heart today? Let's spend a few quiet moments listening to the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts about how we deal with suffering.
B. What has the Holy Spirit spoken to you? Do you need to allow God to change your perspective? Do you need to begin to live a life that is focused on living worshipfully before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Do you need to constantly remember that, because God treasures all people, He will use your suffering to bring them to Himself? Do you need to constantly remember that suffering is a normal part of the Christian life that God uses to make us to be like Him? Do you need to stop suffering because of sin and start obediently living a life of "living holiness" before God so that He can use you and transform you? If you need to make a commitment to Him or ask for His help in any of these areas, please do so now. You can come up to the altars to pray if you'd like. But make those commitments or ask for His help now. Let's pray together.
