Wayfaring Strangers
A Study Of 1 Peter
Part 18
“Fiery trials”
As we continue today with our series
On 1 Peter
Titled
Wayfaring Strangers
The Apostle Peter
Once again addresses suffering for Christ
We have seen over the last couple of months
That we as believers
Those whose home is in eternity
Not here
Will quite likely face trials and troubles
And the fact that we are Christians will not make us immune to these sufferings
But can increase the chance of them
But
With our eyes fixed tightly on Jesus we
Can not only overcome
But thrive and grow in these hard times
In a perfect world
Those who have placed their trust in God
Would not face troubles
But we know we live in a sin filled world
And as we have discussed many times
The world
Old Slick and even some of our friends and families
Don’t like the new us
So, troubles come our way
And Peter to encourage and prepare the believers
Gives us ways to not only get though the tough times
But
To experience spiritual growth in our own lives
And let the unbelieving world see Christ in our actions, reactions and responses
Please open your bibles to
1 Peter Chapter 4:12-19
Let me read this passage in its entirety and then come back and break it down
Please throw your bulletin in there as we will come back here a lot
1 Peter 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. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God[a] rests upon you.[b] 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”[c]
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you
Verse 12
Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
The NLT uses the words dear friends
The King James says beloved
Peter is Cleary talking to believers here
Wayfaring strangers
And he is offering hope to those who know Christ
Without Christ there can be no hope
He says
Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials
Now I am sure that when peter says fiery trials
He is talking about way above and beyond
Just getting unfriended
Or talked about
It that day
Nero was actively killing Christians for their faith
Even making lamps or candles out of them
So, peter
Says
Hey guys
Don’t be surprised by these bad things
And then in verse 13
He says
1 Peter 4:13
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
Instead
When the worst of the worst is happening
When the wheels fall off
And there seems to be no hope
When the report from the Doctor comes back and it’s not good
When the woman or man you love, leaves without reason
When you experience sickness
And death
And loss of all types
Fiery trails
Peter calls them
Big stuff
Be very glad
Do what?
The world yells, you have got to be kidding
Our human minds say, really God
Be glad
Be glad
Because Christ suffered as well
And when you suffer for him
You be blessed
A question that is asked often by believers of al levels of maturity
Is why God?
I’m trying to do right, why God
Listen to me this is reality
God allows us free will
He allows his children to sin
He allows his children to suffer the consequences of their sin
And he does this for a variety of reasons
First, he does this to expose our sinful hearts
Trials and troubles should make us shine a light on ourselves
See if we are truly living as Bona Fide Believers
And if not
Help us make the changes needed
Consequences help get us right
Next, we sometimes are allowed to suffer to turn us from our sins
Once again
Consequences are often the best medicine
And when we learn from our mistakes
We often don’t make the same ones over and over
Here is one we often don’t expect
We are allowed to suffer
Sometimes
To prepare us for more suffering
It has been said that a Christian is always either in a wreck, coming out of a wreck and headed for a wreck
When we have overcome prior trials
God is preparing us for the next ones
I think this is the most important one
He allows us to sin and suffer the consequences of that sin
To cause us to turn to him
And focus completely and totally on him
When we focus on God
We stop focusing on self
And we allow him to drive instead of continuing to make a mess out of our lives on our own
Listen
Trials are common for all people, Christians included
Trials come in many, many forms
Trials can and do put our faith to the test
Without trials there would be no spiritual growth
Peter in this passage is talking about Major trials
Fiery trials
Trials on steroids
And he says these kinds of trials often cause panic
Often cause Doubt
But when we arm ourselves with the same attitude as Christ
They should produce trust
So, let’s break all this fiery trails stuff down
And see just what God through Peter wants us to learn from them
Verses 12 and 13
Show us how we should react to major trials
Verse 12
“Don’t be surprised”
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you”
Peter
Paul
James
Jude
As well as others
Experienced trails
And taught about them as well
All of the Apostles except John died for their faith
What all these great men of the bible are saying is simply
Don’t be blindsided by trails
Expect them
Verse 13 says
“Keep on rejoicing”
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
Praise God when the tough times come
Praise God on the mountain and in the valley
Praise God
Never stop rejoicing that you have been delivered
That you have been redeemed
That you have been saved
Praise God that Old Slick sees you as a force to reckon with
When we don’t get blindsided and we rejoice in all things
These reactions will help build a deeper relationship with Christ
And will bring greater rewards in this life and the next
These are the reactions of a believer to major trails
Then Peter says we are to remember a few things in those trials
Verse 14
14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God[a] rests upon you.[
First
Trials give us an opportunity to pull on God’s power and strength instead of relying on our own
And even more the proper responses let others see his power and strength as well
Next
As much as we want to deny it
Sometimes suffering is deserved
Verse 15
15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.
Peter simply says this
If you are suffering for doing the wrong stuff’
You are getting what you deserve
Reaping what we sowed
Then he says remember
It is no shame to suffer for Christ
Verse 16
16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!
Consider it pure joy James says
Hold your head high
It is our privilege to suffer for the one who suffered for us
And we should praise God for the privilege of being his child
This one is hard
Verse 17a
17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household.
Sometimes suffering is timely and needed
We are human beings
And human beings sin
And think about sinning
We constantly need to be cleansed
This is why we ask forgiveness for our sins
God is a good, good Father
He knows when we sin and has already forgiven us
But he wants to hear it from us
Listen
We know that the blood of our savior covered our past, present and future sins
And when we accept him we are truly forgiven
But trails cause us to look back and see the good things in our lives and the lives of others that came for the trials in our lives
To admit our mistakes
And repent of them
And continue with our spiritual growth
Trails are constantly molding us into the image of Jesus
This last thing to remember about trails is comforting to believers and should scare the pants off those who don’t know Jesus
The trails we suffer as Christians will pale in comparison to those the unbelieving world will face in eternity
Forever
Verse 17b-18
And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?
Let me put this in very simple terms
Nothing that this world can throw at you
Wil make a dent in the suffering of those who choose to spend eternity apart from God
But even in this life
Our suffering will not be as bad as theirs because we have hope
Imagine
Trying to get through a death
A major illness
A relationship train wreck
Or one of thousands of other trails troubles and hardships that can happen
Without God
You see we have hope
We have assurance of a coming peace
And knowledge that at the end of the day
Or the end of this life
There is God waiting to warp us in his arms forever
The lost don’t have assurance
They don’t have hope
They don’t have the vision of being held by God
So, I can’t imagine how they deal with troubles
Peter tells us in this passage
How to react to trails
What to remember in the trails
And then he closes out this chapter
With what I believe to be the key
He tells us who to rely on in the trials
Verse 19
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
If you are suffering for Christ
Keep doing what you are doing
It is working
And Old slick ain’t happy
And trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you
The word trust he is translated entrust in other versions
And it means commit
It is the same word used in Luke 23
When Jesus said
Into your hands I commit my spirit
Complete and total trust
In God alone we place our trust
And nothing can stand against us
Trials
Troubles
Hardships
Al cause pressure
And pressure can increase strength or destroy
Hudson Taylor
Someone who understood trails and pressure
Missionary to China in the 1800’s for over 51 years said these words
“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies, whether it comes between me and God or whether it presses me nearer his heart”
So
What now
How do we apply this?
Respond to trails with the attitude of Christ
For us
Trials should draw us closer to God
The unbelievers resist
Resent
And even cave in under the weight of trials
We don’t have to
We serve a God who can and who will
God never wastes a hurt or a trial
When we give him the glory- he can and will turn the bad to good
The sorrow to joy
Don’t be surprised by trails
Don’t stop rejoicing
Use trials to lean on God and his power and strength
See them as learning tools and make sure we don’t deserve what we are getting
If we do
Make changes
There is no shame in suffering for Christ
And nothing we get will compare to the suffering of those who do not know Jesus
If nothing else today sticks
Remember this
When trails come
You can rely on God
He is faithful
And will never leave you
And can take you through whatever it is
And when trials come a stay awhile
Always do the right thing
And seek strength and guidance for the creator who loves you
You will find refuge in him
Close from the heart
Pray
