1 PETER 4:12-4:19

Review:

Live so that others might see Christ - Whatever happens, always remember to whom you belong. - Whatever happens, always remember where your hope rests.

Last week we covered Peter’s directions in “all things” - At the end of all things, pray -- intelligently and watchfully. - Above all things, Love -- it will cover a multitude of sins - And in all things, let God be glorified.

Theme: Romans 8:24-25 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not ​ ​ hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

- Speaking of God being glorified in all things:

12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as ​ though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you ​ ​ partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

- When you come up against fiery trials - And if you are not facing fiery trials now, you will - When you come up against trials, do not think it strange. - Don’t feel like you are alone. - This type of fire is the fire of a smelting furnace. - It is a refiner’s fire. - That which can burn away the impurity -- - Smelting is described as a process of freeing metal from its ore - It is a process designed to extract purity from impurity by fire - Think about that -- what within us is pure? - What even can be extracted from us that is worth extracting? - Only Jesus! - When we talk of our lives being subject to this type of fire, - This type of trial, - What is being removed, literally, is ourselves - And what is being freed in our lives, is Jesus. - Our trials don’t reduce us down to the best version of ourselves. - They reduce us down, so that Jesus might be revealed in our lives. ​ ​ - Understand in that, - the more Jesus that shows through in your life, - the more this world is going to reject what they see. - Jesus said in Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for ​ ​ My Name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. - John 15:18 expands on this. Jesus says there: “If the world ​ hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” - In our trials, Jesus is being revealed in our lives - if we would but let Him be revealed through us. - Paul says in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with ​ ​ Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. - Don’t think it strange to go through such a fiery trial, but rejoice! - Rejoice = In the Greek, “Chairo” - To be full of cheer, that is: calmly happy - The King James says “be glad with exceeding joy” - Rejoice to the extent that You partake of Christ’s sufferings - We don’t revel in the pain as - We don’t rejoice in the suffering itself - We’re not weird! - We rejoice in partaking of Christ’s suffering - That is, - if through our suffering, anyone else is drawn closer to His glory … - If through our suffering, His name is proclaimed … - If through our suffering, we are left with one less thing to bind us to this earth … - If through our suffering, our longing for eternity with Jesus Christ grows deeper … - Rejoice. - James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various ​ trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let ​ patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and ​ complete, lacking nothing. - Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ​ are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ​ - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a ​ ​ moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight ​ of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory ​ and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

- Be encouraged when the world opposes the things you say - When they oppose the name of Jesus Christ - The Spirit of Glory and of God rests upon you - Be encouraged in that the things which sting us the deepest - The relationships which cause us the most grief - The thorns in our sides, - in God’s hands, over time, - Sometimes over a great amount of time, - can become sources of great joy. - Ecclesiastes 3:11-12 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has ​ ​ put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in all their lives . - God has made everything beautiful in its time. ​ ​ - We have a knack for only seeing the present. - We see the catastrophes, - And the messes - And the ashes - The things which cause us anguish and unrest - God, though, only sees materials He is working into something beautiful. - Something only He can make - He has put eternity on our hearts. - Which means the temporary can never satisfy us, - Only the eternal God can satisfy that yearning - And yet, the temporary -- particularly in times of suffering, - tends to occupy the bulk of our thoughts and desires. - We so often would trade our present comfort and satisfaction at the cost of forgetting our eternal security and salvation. - We want perfection here. - We want comfort and protection, - and sustenance and joy here. We want all of it right now. - And we forget, in that, we are simply here as brushes in the hands of the Mighty Creator - That we are meant to paint pictures of the true nature of God in eternity -- the Future Hope, ​ - for a temporary, and utterly imperfect, present. - No one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. - We are not going to understand the complete picture this side of eternity. - And even if we could see it, we couldn’t comprehend it. ​ ​ - We are not God. Simple as that. - We don’t have His mind or His heart. - We will only have what God gives us in the moment, to get to the next. - And that will always be enough, - when we hold it up against the knowledge, - that He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Back in 1 Peter: 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in ​ other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, ​ ​ but let him glorify God in this matter.

- It’s an entirely different thing to suffer for doing wrong. - And note in this, two things listed here are considered crimes anywhere - being a murderer and a thief - Being just a plain old evil-doer is set on the same plain - And then being a busybody in other people’s matters. - Think on that for a second, - It is mentioned in the same breath with murder and theft. - Getting involved where it is none of our business. - And understand, there is a big difference between reaching out in love toward someone who is headed for harm, - Or who is headed for the harm of another - Reaching out in their best interest, or in the best interest of another - That’s different - There’s a big difference between that and just plain old delving into matters out of our own curiosity, - because we like being in the middle of things. - Or because we like being in the know. - God allows knowledge so that we might do something to help within it. - So that, as last week, we can aid in love covering over a sin - As opposed to attaining the knowledge and then spreading it. - Much like murder and theft, destruction and pain pave that path. - God leads to edify, to correct and to build up. - Evil would lead to destroy, tear down and humiliate. - The actions may look similar, but the the heart in each case, lies on opposite ends of the spectrum - Let none of you suffer for the like ​ - If you’re always late to work, or you’re flat out unreliable or insubordinate, - and you get fired, - don’t pin it on the fact that you had a on your desk. - If you are reprimanded for sharing the during work time -- understand that it’s not the Gospel for which you are suffering, - but the fact that you are thieving time your employer is paying you for. - It’s not righteous suffering to be a Christian, - and have something bad happen because of some sin you’ve become entangled in. - But there is no shame in suffering for the Name of Jesus. - Get used to the idea that proclaiming the name of Christ sets a higher standard in others’ minds for you -- rightfully or wrongfully - They expect more from you, they watch you - They want to see if this is real - In turn, we tend to feel an increased pressure to not disappoint, - In attempting to live to meet the standards of man, - Understand, we are going to fail. - The crowd is fickle and our flesh is suspect. - That is where the importance, again, comes into play, - of living each moment as unto Jesus Christ - Because in that, the pressure is off ​ ​ - Just live attempting to please Him, - And God is faithful to honor that effort in your life.

If anyone suffers as a Christian ...

- We throw this word - Christian - around today with great flexibility and utility - It means simply “like Christ,” or “follower of Christ.” - Early on it was thrown around in a derogatory sense -- “Little Christs” - For as much as we toss this word around today, - it is actually one of the more seldom used terms in the entire Bible. - It’s only used three times in scripture. - It is used here in verse 16 -- if anyone suffers as a Christian ... ​ - And it is used twice in Acts. - :26 - In the midst of tremendous persecution of the church, Saul -- one of the great persecutors of the church -- is met on the road to Damascus by Jesus Christ and is converted. - Then Peter sees a vision, which leads to the gospel going forth to the Gentiles, - and the Gentiles are filled with the Holy Spirit. - And then Barnabas -- who we are going to spend some time on

this coming Sunday, goes out to find Saul.

- Acts 11:26 ​And when he (Barnabas) had found him (Saul), he brought him to . So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. - Antioch was a good distance away from Jerusalem -- 600 miles -- roughly if you were to drive from here up to Portland - Quite a journey - The disciples there had been displaced and scattered as persecution arose from the Sanhedrin - They were pilgrims in a distant land, - and every day more and more people around them, were coming to a belief in this Jesus. - Just after this, Herod -- the King of Judea -- discovered that harassing and even killing these Christians was pleasing to the Jews, - It made him quite popular politically, - so he began to make a regular practice of it. - So, at this point, you had the religious leaders and the civil leaders ​ ​ pursuing the church. - Pursuing these Christians - :28 - As Saul -- now called Paul -- is awaiting transport to Rome to make his appeal to Caesar, He is kept in custody at Cesarea. - Agrippa, who now was King of Judea, comes to visit Festus, the governor over Cesarea, - and Paul is brought before them to make his defense. - So persuasive were his words that Agrippa, at one point, exclaims in Acts 26:28: - “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” ​ ​ - He says it in the frame of “you almost make me want to become one of you poor saps.” - And Paul says in verse 29 “I would to God that not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become both almost and altogether

such as I am, except for these chains.” - The three times this word “Christian” is used in scripture, - it is used under conditions of suffering, - imprisonment, - or persecution for the Name of Jesus Christ. - Understand the context: - When the word Christian was used in the Bible, - it was used in the sense that they were like Christ, - in that they were bound for suffering as He suffered - Each time the word is used, it’s used in a time and place where to attach yourself to that Name was punishable by death. - Effectively, to call someone Christian then, - was to say “Dead Man Walking” - And the early church took the term up as a badge of honor - Because their grip on their lives here, - had been loosened to such an extent that truly, - to live was Christ, and to die was gain. - When we use the word “Christian” today, - we often use it under the banner of the constitutional rights we feel we deserve - Or the values we represent - Or the good things we do for the community - I can’t tell you how many times I have heard over the past several months, - the church at large defining itself as those who are essential because of the good we do for our congregations and our communities. - And in that we miss that the word Christian was derived, - simply as those who would give their livelihoods, - their rights, - their very lives, - for this Name, Jesus. - There is no shame for suffering as a Christian - For in being a Christian, there will be suffering - And as we keep coming back to, - We do not suffer simply for suffering sake. - We suffer to rightly represent Jesus Christ Himself. - Don’t get lost down the rabbit trail of personal rights and accommodations. - Very simply, that is a detour being laid by the enemy. - See Our Lord - See how He lived. ​ ​ - See how He sacrificed. - See how He ministered. - See how He loved. - Pattern your life after Him, and others will see Him. ​ ​ - That’s the point in any of this: - - Christ-Likeness - is not what we get, and what we do. - It is Who we have, - and how He -- in His divine nature -- is revealed through our lives. - So that others might have, - not good things, ​ ​ - but a truly good God. - Jesus is essential. ​ - Let that be our thinking. - To strive not for what we have always done, - But that this world would know Him. - Each of us can lay our lives on that altar -- ​ ​ - That regardless of what comes next, the world would see Jesus Christ being released through my flesh being burned away. - “I would to God that not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” - Except for this suffering.

Back in 1 Peter:

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins ​ with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now ​ ​ “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

- All will be judged according to what they did with the claims of Jesus Christ. - Very simply, did you accept Him as King, - or did you reject Him, - and choose yourself to serve as god and king over your own life? - Everyone must give an account for their sin. - And all have sinned and falled short of the Glory of God. - For the believer, Jesus is that account. ​ ​ - All of our wretchedness is covered by His blood. - He accounts for us. - For the unbeliever -- for the one who would say, - “No, Jesus’ blood is not sufficient for me. I have no need of it …” - Outside of tragically condemning themselves, - they also take on accounting for their own sin - For which they have no payment or mercy. - Can I just say right now - Choose Jesus. - None of us have a payment big enough - None of us have a payment pure enough, to make things right before God on our own. - And we all will be called to account before Him, sooner or later. - If judgement begins with us first ... - Hebrews 12:7- says “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; ​ for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” - The only difference between a believer and a non-believer is Jesus Christ. - A believer is no better, no worse. They just have the truth. - And that Truth, the Truth, as we read in Acts 4 on Sunday, is ​ ​ Jesus. That Truth is life. - Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is ​ ​ no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. ​ - If not for that Name, and what it represents, there is no freedom. - No hope. - No joy. - And that is the existence of one who does not believe in this Name. - What will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? - Their end is away from Jesus. - Their end is hell. - This is not an “Us vs. Them” passage. - It is a word of compassion and understanding for a world that does not believe. - As we talked about last week -- the time is urgent! - The end of all things is at hand. - Realize the end for one who does not believe in Jesus Christ, - Realize the end for them, and reach out in love. - Jesus is the only the difference. - Psalm 118:14 says “The Lord is my strength and my song. And He ​ has become my salvation.” - Jesus is our salvation. ​ ​ - Without Him, there is nothing.

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him ​ in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

- God is the Creator. All things are ordered by His hand. - Again, He makes everything beautiful in its time. - His will, at times, - At many times, ​ ​ - is completely out of our grasp and understanding - But His will is perfect, as evidenced in the things He has created. - Just think of the respiratory system working in conjunction with the atmosphere that God developed. - What good are lungs without oxygen? - And what good is oxygen without a circulatory system? - And what good is any of that, if it cannot develop together in a protected environment? - This atmosphere God created, it allows for sound, - And this sound is able to be processed by the ears and the brain He gave us, - but the brain is no good without the respiratory or the circulatory systems. - And neither of those can operate without the brain. - Consider the eye, being able to process the light, - from the great lights out in the expanse of the solar system, that God Himself hung in place. - Consider that God gave us a nervous system, - to give us movement and interaction, - and warning and pleasure - within this world He wove together. - To that faithful Creator, we commit our souls -- even in suffering, ​ ​ - knowing the suffering, as hard as it is to grasp, - happens within His will, for His good purposes. - Because He makes everything beautiful in its time. - And because He has set eternity on our hearts.