1 Peter 4:12-19 (Peter’s Description of Dealing with Sufferings)
August 19, 2012
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Introduction:
Prayer:
You know I was trying to think of a great story to tell along with my sermon this week, talking about dealing with sufferings or dealing with something that would bring to light the reality that when something happens to us in our lives we can deal with it in many ways.
Well God gave me a story!
This week as I was getting my message ready, I was working on my computer typing away and then and there the big story happened! Microsoft office decided that it was going to lock up on me. Now those of you that own a PC this may not be surprising to you, but those of us that are MAC people understand stuff like this does not happen very often!
I mean I lost my stinking sermon!
I was filled with emotion! I was mad, I was upset, I was ready to pull my hair out! Here I was trying to get this puppy done, We had the Father, Son campout to go to a little after lunch and here it is 9:35am and my sermon takes a nose drive! I know that I will not have time on Saturday to finish, because once I get home from camping, clean out the Camper and get ready I got to be at Davids house for a BBQ and I’m not going to miss that and if I wait till after that to do the message it will truly be a Saturday night special! OK all this is running through my head, my top is about to Pop and God says, All I wanted to do is give you a story!
Well the moral of the story is when something happens to us in our lives we can react in many ways.
This morning Peter is going to describe to us as Christians how to deal with things in our lives, specifically sufferings.
Now I could have lost it, I could have said you know what I will just do one on the fly, surly I can do that, I could have screamed at Daivd, DO YOU BELIEVE THIS! But as I sat there I said you know what, just start over and trust God is still in control and here we are talking about my revised sermon!
Let us dig in this morning and look at what Peter has to tell us today about suffering.
Last week we looked again at our outline: We saw…….
a. Peter’s description of the Christian’s Life Style (4:7-11)
i. The End times should bring about Christian Urgency! (4:7a)
ii. The End times should bring about Christian Living! (7b-11)
Sober minds, Sound judgments for the purpose of Prayer! We needed to Love one another! You know one of my favorite verse comes from Philippians 2:1-5, turn with me there. We also learned that we need to be hospitable to people and that we need to serve one another. Look Thursday this week we are going to be helping a brother in the church at his house do some yard clean up! You want to serve you meet us here at the church to help do that about 6pm, I’ll wait right here and we can leave together. We will leave at 6:15 to go do the work, let’s fill his yard with people, lets have people wonder what in the world is happening at that guys house! I want him and others to think, these church people come with helping hands. Women, Children and MEN, your all welcome to come help! Thursday at 6pm right here at the church and then at 6:15 we will head over! I’ll be looking for you too! That was what we talked about last week! This week we are looking
b. Peter’s description of dealing with Sufferings. (4:12-19)
Peter is going to tell us how we are to handle sufferings.
i. We need to Consider our Sufferings! (4:12)
ii. We need to Celebrate our Sufferings! (4:13-14)
iii. We need to Calculate our Sufferings! (4:15-18)
iv. We need to Commit our Sufferings! (4:19)
Well if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 4:12-19!
If your new here we also have slides that you can follow along with, but we want to encourage you to use your Bibles, take notes in them, but if you don’t have one today, follow on the sildes that we have provided.
1 Peter 4:12-19
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? 19Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
With that said let us look at four things this morning that Peter is trying to communicate to us as believers as we deal with sufferings!
1. We need to Consider our Sufferings!
2. We need to Celebrate our Sufferings!
3. We need to Calculate our Sufferings!
4. We need to Commit our Sufferings!
Let us look at point #1
1. We need to Consider our Sufferings!
What I mean when I say that is, that we need to consider that its going to happen, we to have this expectation that you and me are going to suffer, its just a matter of time! You know its just like my sermon failure! Its wasn’t a matter of if it was going to happen, but it was a matter of when, it’s a computer, it will fail, but knowing that, there are something’s that I could have done to deal with it when it happened and that is the first step that we need to take!
If we are living lives as Christ calls us to live, we will have sufferings due to that life style. This week when that young man told me I was stupid, an idiot for believing in Jesus Christ was alive, If I didn’t expect that or If I haven’t prepared my self for that, I could have gotten really upset! Was I upset, yes, but I didn’t lash back out, because I understand its coming!
Peter says:
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
This trail is not to be a surprise to you! You are to consider that its going to happen, you to expect it!
Here we know that he is talking to these believers because he calls them Beloved! This was the Father’s way of referring to His Son and later was transferred to His followers. These are believers, which He called us already in 2:11……….
These are Christians Suffering, I don’t find it hard to believe that when He says fiery trail that maybe just maybe he is alluding to the fact that many of the believers are being dipped and burned alive, now that is speculation, but what we know for sure is there is some kind of persecution going on and He is saying do not be surprised because of the painful test you are suffering.
Listen brothers and sister! When your spoken against because of your faith, Don’t be surprised, we are to consider that it will happen!
Let me validate this for!
Lets us look at a few verses, which will explain why we can expect suffering and trails. The fact that here in our verse Peter tells us don’t be surprised, then that presumes we must expect!
2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” Now, you want to live a godly life? You will be persecuted!
John 15:20 “"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you;” They did it to Christ and if you are in Christ they will do it to you!”
You see you may be persecuted, but listen your not abandoned, you may be struck down, but your destroyed!
Don’t act like this is a strange things when it happens folks, be on alert! Its coming! Persecution is COMING! This next generation of kids are opposed to the God you worship and they are not silent! Be prepared and not surprised!
The second things point we need to look at is!
2. We need to Celebrate our Sufferings!
I guess the best way for me to understand this is to understand that we are expected to suffer when we are living godly lives! If that is the case the fact that we are suffering for our faith shows us that we are trying at least to live godly lives and therefore we should celebrate that we can suffer with Christ!
He says:
13but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
He says to what ever degree you share in these sufferings, keep rejoicing! You degree and my degree may be different, our degree in America maybe different that the degree that they would suffer in Ukraine and that would be different that what Montana would suffer in Turkey! We are not to brag! OH I suffer more that you for Christ! Listen, what ever degree it is that you suffer for Christ, it should keep you rejoicing, knowing that at His second coming you may Rejoice!
It says with Exultation! WITH GREAT CELEBRATION, it means to Rejoice!
You see your hope here is the second coming! That is the hope that Peter offers, he doesn’t tell you that your days here will be well, or that anyone will even stand with you but God him self. But the hope that he does offer is! Our Jesus is coming again and He will receive us to himself that where He is there we will be also!
Look at Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I can’t offer you much more hope than that! Your Reward in Heaven is GREAT! That means its there building up waiting on your arrival! Not will be, but Is!
But please don’t miss this! if you are suffering your Blessed! But listen to this what he says next!
and the Spirit of glory and of God rest on you! This is speaking of the Holy Spirit that indwells every believer! I like the word that Peter uses here Rest! The Holy Spirit Rest upon you! You have the Holy Spirit within your very self and He rest there!
Listen, these are validation within our own lives that we are truly believers. If you are suffering for your faith, there is a proof that the Holy Spirit rest within you!
WOW! Suffering is a proof that you have been crucified with Christ and no longer is it you that lives, but Christ that lives in you!
I shouldn’t have gotten mad or upset that my sermon took a spill, but I should have rejoiced in knowing that God is in control and that He was working even in the midst of that small but challenging trail.
The third thing though that He wants us to see is this:
3. We need to Calculate our Sufferings!
Just like when my sermon file to a trip to far far away! I had to sit back and calculate why it happened! I did some searching to see if I created the Problem, to see if the computer was the problem, I had to do some evaluation!
Listen to what Peter says next!
15Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?
You know what Peter is saying? He is saying this! Calculate all that is happening in your life, all the so called suffering and make sure that it’s a righteous suffering for Christ sake and not suffering based off your own mistakes!
Make sure your not rejoicing over something that is not godly! I had a man in my office in one time telling me that He was suffering for Christ as he flew a plane in to a foreign country and what locked up and then he broke out and shot some man and He was just rejoicing that God delivered him from this! Listen bro the Bible says that you should not murderer!
That is suffering for the wrong thing, this kind of suffering we should be ashamed of!
Really what Peter is doing here is placing a disclaimer on his message! Why do you think that he is doing that? Because we as humans can justify and rationalize anything, but here Peter is making it clear If one is suffering as murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; He is not suffering for Christ or for Righteousness, he is suffering for breaking the law!
Look if you put your self into a situation that God tells you not to and you being to suffer, its not for the sake of Christ, it’s because you have broken the law of the Lord and this is way Peter gives a disclaimer, because people try to justify their sin for suffering! Let us Calculate, just what it is that is causing the suffering! Let us evaluate why it is that we are suffering!
But here in the middle he breaks off and comes back to the Christian that is suffering!
16but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
But if! He says! IF you don’t suffer in this manner, but suffer as a Christians “ Which means a TRUE follower of Christ! I think this word Christian is used only 3 times in the NT and He is saying Listen! Don’t be ashamed when they call you a holy roller, Bible thumper, Jesus freak or what ever else you have been called!
Peter may be thinking about His own life, that night when he was ashamed! You know becoming experienced comes from learning from mistakes.
Peter has learned from his mistakes and has repented and is not a faithful follower of Christ who is not ashamed!
You glorify God as a Christian, don’t bring dishonor to his name, it effect everyone around you more than you could ever know.
Honor him as a Christian in the work place, on the golf course, at the horse track, on the mountain trail, on your snowmobile, in your home and in your sufferings!
17For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?
The Judgment is coming and it begins with His own people! The House hold of God!
But listen to what 1 Corinthians 11:32 says “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
Yes God starts his judgment right within us as we see this through sufferings and persecution! If our judgment are suffering what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? He says?
There are not words to explain, what will happen on that day. Just like in the day of Noah, OH your God isn’t coming! Its not going to rain! You’re a fool for building this boat and today they will say you’re a fool for looking for the return of Christ and even to believe in such a mess! But its time for judgment to begin!
Listen if its through much suffering and pain and God ordained discipline that one comes to final salvation what will it be life for those that reject the Gospel!
You don’t want to be there on that day, you will desire to crawl in a hole when Christ returns if you are not within the house hold of God.
The final thing we need to look at today is
4. We need to Commit our Sufferings!
We must commit ourselves to God in sufferings. We must entrust our sufferings to the Lord, because we suffer based off the will of God! He says:…….
19Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
You and me suffer according to the Will of God, What is it that God is entrusting to us through suffering! To stand firm and make an impact for the kingdom of God.
Listen when this young man called me on the phone Friday and he cursed me up and down and told me all about how stupid Christians were and fake they were and how they pray for you on Sunday and then stick it to you on Monday! I just listened until he vented and then he hung up the phone.
I will see this fella in town and I will ask him how he is doing and explain to him the Love of God and the sinfulness of man, because it’s the right thing to do! You and I have been entrusted to do what is right and that is to stand firm and not to fold.
Psalms 55:22 “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
You have been encouraged to take your burdens unto the Lord!
Peter tells us in 5:7 “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
This morning you are to commit, you are to entrust your trails, your pain and you’re your sufferings unto the Lord.
Suffering with Christ is not easy, but suffering with out Christ is detrimental!
Are you weary this morning and are you tired of trying to do all these things in your own strength? Come and let us pray with you today!
