INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
„X When you are going through difficult times do you feel loved by God?
„X How do you think you would feel if you were seeing your family being persecuted because of their faith or if you suffer persecution because of your faith in Jesus?
„X Would you feel loved? Abandoned? SLIDE #2
„X In the movie Signs, Mel Gibson plays a minister (Graham Hess) who bitterly left the ministry because his wife died. The Hess family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, wake up one morning to find a 500-foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess and his family are told extra-terrestrials are responsible for the sign in their field. They watch, with growing dread, the news of crop circles being found all over the world, causing them to question their faith in God and love as a family.
„X PLAY DVD.
Start Time:
1:09:48 End Time:
1:12:25
Start Cue:
"I’ll make some sandwiches"
End Cue:
People hugging
„X Most people do not feel loved by God when they are going through deep trials in life, they do not feel like God is close to them when they are in the midst of the storm.
„X When I start to talk about the issue of suffering, I realize there are people here and in our lives who have suffered a great deal in their lives. This is a serious issue that demands answers.
„X It is so easy to give people short shallow answers and help when THEY are the ones going through the suffering. It is easy to tell someone they just need to get over the loss of a loved one or the loss of their health, the loss of a job.
„X One thing we need to understand when we are in the middle of suffering, tough times, or persecution, is that God is next to us, hurting with us.
„X When we are faced with tough times, it is easy to conclude that if God is all-powerful, then God cannot be good, or how else do you explain birth-defects, genocides that happen throughout history or the recent Tsunami that hit.
„X If God is all-powerful and allows these things, God cannot be good. IF God is good and these things happen, then He must not be all-powerful.
„X Our God is both powerful and loving. Today we are going to see what the tough times are all about.
„X If you are in the middle of or if you are still caught up in the wave of a recent storm of life I hope that you realize that God does love you and He has not abandoned you.
„X Let¡¦s look at 1 Peter 4:12-19 this morning together. READ 1 PETER 4:12-19
SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMUNITY FROM TOUGH TIMES (12, 14, 17)
It is easy to assume that when you become a Christian, God will keep you sheltered from the storms of life. But we need to understand that we are not immune from suffering, pain and persecution. So¡KSLIDE #4
1. Tough times should not surprise us. (12)
„X Peter starts verse 12 with the word ¡§beloved¡¨. These people are in the middle of some difficult times, Peter starts off by reminded us that God loves them and that he loves them. Just because we are facing difficult times does not mean that God has left us.
„X We are told not to be surprised by the fiery ordeal. Literally he is telling them to STOP BEING SURPRISED by the ordeals they are facing. The word ¡§surprise¡¨ means bewildering astonishment (Life app Bible). We should expect to face trials and persecution and tough times in life.
„X Jesus faced difficulties Himself. Romans 8:32 CLICK #4
„X The reference to ¡§fiery ordeal¡¨ seems to be a reference to the refiner¡¦s fire which precious metals were placed so that the impurities would be separated from the gold or silver.
„X Keep this key thought as we look deeper into the text this morning.
„X We are going to face times in our lives that are tough and seemingly unexplainable. We will not always see or understand why things happen.
„X AT many funerals, people will want to know WHY the person died, or what purpose was this death going to accomplish. I believe that knowing the WHY will not ease the pain; it will only lead to more pain and questions. SLIDE #5
2. The time of judgment begins with the household of God. (17)
„X In verse 17 we are told that judgment will begin with the household of God.
„X The judgment spoken of is the trials the people were facing.
„X This ties in a bit with the last issue; we should not be surprised when the tough times come even though we belong to God.
„X This as we will see in a moment is lesser to greater argument. For a season (this life) God¡¦s people will suffer some set-backs, but the problem awaiting the lost is going to be even greater.
„X In a moment we will be looking at the purpose of the ¡§judgment¡¨ or difficult times we face in life. God has a purpose behind ALLOWING these things to happen.
„X CLICK #5
3. Lack of immunity does not mean God has left us. (14)
„X Just as in the movie clip, when Mel Gibson¡¦s character lost his wife in an accident, he felt as though God had left him. He saw the problem as a sign that God was not pleased with him or at times we feel like God is punishing us.
„X There are times where difficulties are an issue of divine discipline.
„X SLIDE #6 Hebrews 12:7
„X Do you think that a parent who does not discipline their child truly loves them? NO!
„X I remember the first time I disciplined Rachel with a swat on the behind; it tore me up to see her hurting. When my children are hurting, I hurt with them. The instinct is to go fix what pains them, but many we know we cannot do that or it would not be in our child¡¦s best interest to do that.
„X Verse 14 tells us the Spirit of God is resting on us. When we are immersed into Christ, we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
„X God is with us ALWAYS. He is never far from us. Do not be deceived into thinking that God has left you because of the terrible crisis you are or have faced. SLIDE #7
II. TOUGH TIMES ARE A TIME OF TESTING. (12-15)
SLIDE #8
1. Tough times are allowed so our faith can be tested.
„X Remember the refining fire, fiery ordeal connection? Verse 12 says these ordeals are allowed to happen for the testing of our faith.
„X If everything was perfect, if the Christian was promised no problems in life, who would not want a part of that? Would people love God for who He is or for making life perfect and problem free?
„X Our trials are the refiner¡¦s fire that purifies and strengthens our faith.
„X The runner who goes through the pains and trials of training is the one who will get to be a stronger runner. Without the pains of training, the runner has no endurance.
„X When we face the tough times and come through them, we will be stronger and we will be blessed by God.
CLICK #8
2. Tough times can also be a time of temptation. (15)
„X The word translated ¡§testing¡¨ in verse 12 can also be translated ¡§tempting¡¨
„X When we are facing difficult times, we will be tempted to leave God. We will be tempted to forsake our faith.
„X I bet a lot of those being persecuted for their faith in Peter¡¦s day though about it.
„X Verse 15 encourages us not to suffer as a law-breaker would, but that if we are suffering for Jesus, we will not be sorry.
SLIDE #9
III. IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM, GOD HAS A PLAN. (16-17, 19)
SLIDE #10
1. God is still in control, He permits tough times for our own good.
„X It sure can seem that God is off in another world when I am facing trials and difficult times in life. Do you ever feel that way?
„X The testing and the trials we face are for our own God.
„X When we are in the middle of them, we sometimes cannot see it.
„X The blessings that God has in store for us in the end are worth anything we go though now. God promises He will work all things for God for those who love Him.
„X CLICK #10 Romans 8:28
SLIDE #11
2. Our suffering is an opportunity to bring glory to God. (16)
„X One of the problems we face as we deal with various issues in life is a fundamental attitude issue. WE have a tendency to see life being all about us. Why did this happen to me? Why am I going through this? The thing we need to understand about life is it is really all about God.
„X When we see this, we can more easily deal with things in life. We can start asking the question, ¡§How can I bring glory to God through this difficult situation.¡¨
„X When we face difficulties, we are going to get upset at God initially at times. WE will be a bit confused, hurt, angry, and shaken. The sooner we can look at the situation as an opportunity to bring glory to the one who saved us, the sooner we will pull through it also.
CLICK #11
3. God desires us to depend on Him even more. (19)
„X Look at verse 19.
„X It says that those who exercise their faith in the midst of troubles will entrust their souls to a faithful creator!
„X Entrust is a banking term used of depositing money with the understanding it will be safely kept.
„X SLIDE #12 In Luke 23:46 Jesus committed His Spirit into God¡¦s hands.
„X When we are going through trials, it is imperative that we depend on God. God did not create us with the intention of making us miserable. He loves us.
„X SLIDE #13
IV. FAITHLESSNESS AND FAILURE ARE EXPENSIVE MISTAKES. (17B-18)
We need to realize that if we quit on God, it would be an expensive mistake.
SLIDE #14
1. The disobedient are not getting off the hook.
„X If God allows us to go through testing, and the new past the testing, what do you think will await those who are disobedient to God?
„X Peter asks what the outcome will be for those who do not obey the gospel of God.
„X The godless person, a person devoid of God in attitude and conduct. What will happen to them? The sinner is in trouble, the one who habitually violates the standards of God. The sinner is one who has never had their sins covered by the blood of Jesus! CLICK #14
2. If God allows difficult times to happen to His children, how much more will await those who do not love Him?
„X Do you want to make the mistake of dumping God when things get tough?
„X I know things can get really bad at times, but think if the alternative if you become one who disobeys God or becomes godless because of your ordeal.
„X Leaving God will not fix whatever happened.
„X We must remember that God ALLOWS things to happen, he does not take or loved one from us. Remember that those who belong to Jesus will be together again one day!
„X Those who reject Jesus have a terrible fate awaiting them, we need to understand.
„X We need to realize that we need to stay strong and try to help one another get through tough times.
„X I wish God would heal EVERYONE who is sick, but many times there is no healing. If this life were all we had, then we would have more to be upset at, but when we die in Christ, we have a great inheritance awaiting us!
SLIDE #15
CONCLUSION
„X It is easy to think that God has abandoned us in our darkest hour. We need to understand that yes, God does love you and yes God is still there for you.
„X I do not ever want to come off as trivializing the pains of life. When we face them, we need not do it alone, we have God with us and we have His family the church with us.
„X Are you going through the valley of the shadow of death alone? You do not have to. If you are without Jesus, today you can change that.
„X If your faith has taken a beating over terrible circumstances that life has dealt to you, let today begin your healing.
„X Let Jesus Christ make you complete and whole again!
