Suffering is something that each and everyone one of us deal everyday of our lives. Suffering comes into everyday peoples lives both great and small don’t they. Sometimes suffering comes into people’s lives and we don’t know how nor why God would allow a person to endure such a trial. Suffering can also come at a moments notice and when least expected. They come in different shapes and sizes ranging from; Financial, relationships both with spouses and friends, physical, and emotional just to name a few.
What does it mean to suffer? It means to endure pain or loss. It also means to feel what is painful or distressing, either to the body or mind. Again no body likes to suffer, and more times than many it seems as thou suffering happens to good people and the most popular question when a friend, love one, or even when you yourself are dealing with suffering we always want to know “why”?
Why does God allow me, my friend at work, family member whom I love dearly, or even the person sitting next to you right now be allowed to suffer trials and tribulations? A popular verse of scripture that we like to quote is Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. So does this mean that its Gods will for those who are saved is to suffer? Yes, we are promised in the scriptures that we are going to suffer. You see, when a person comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by repentance of faith this doesn’t mean that suffering stops, what it means is your suffering has just begun. (Read text)
It’s fitting to find the writer of our text this morning writing about suffering. Peter himself has had to deal with suffering throughout his personal ministry. In the gospels Peter had to deal with the suffering of failure. In the last chapter of John we find Peter going back to a lifestyle that he new before he followed Jesus. He suffered failure and ridicule when he denied Jesus the night of His arrest. He suffered persecution while preaching in Jerusalem. He suffered trials and temptations while on missionary journeys scattered abroad the new world.
Again this is very fitting because it fulfills the scripture. Jesus eating with His disciples at during the Lord’s Supper Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. In or text you find Peter doing exactly that, strengthening the brethren who are scattered abroad Asia.
Peter encourages us to rejoice in the midst of our suffering by responding to something other than our immediate circumstances. Though the situation before us is bleak, there is a bigger picture behind what we see and feel. Chapter 1, Peter tells us that while you are suffering, God gives you the strength and mercy to rely on a living hope that gives you the ability to look towards an inheritance that never fades or perishes. In other words Peter begins by strengthening the brethren by saying hang in there. It’s necessary that we suffer for Christ sake. And while you suffer think on the inheritance that is laid in store for you in heaven.
The theme throughout this book is about suffering for Christ. Peter makes it very clear that everyone will suffer. Whether you’re lost dying going to hell, or you’re a Saved Sunday School teacher everyone suffers in life. A couple of weeks ago I preached a sermon about the judgment seat of Christ and how every thing we do, say think we will be accountable for and will be judged. Whether your saved or lost. If your saved you will be rewarded according to your lifestyle here on this earth. If your lost you will be cast into a lake of fire to spend an eternity in hell with the devil and his followers.
So the point that Peter is making here is, since you are going to suffer in this life anyway, you might as well it count. In other words if you are going to be judged for everything that you say, do, or think, you might as well make every single second of your life count that it might be logged down on the good side rather than the bad. In other words not only will you be judge on what you did good and bad, but judgment will be based on how you handled the trial. 1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
And in doing so Peter in Chapter 4 gives us some guidelines to follow in regards to making our lives count even as we suffer when life deals us lemons.
To make our lives count through suffering Peter says to:
I. Have the same mind of Christ. Vs. 1
A. Christ suffered here on this earth from the time that He was born to the time that He was nailed to a cross to pay off our sin debt.
B. There is a beautiful picture there in verse one. God send us His only begotten Son to take the form of a man so #1 that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
C. #2 so that we can have the greatest example to follow. Hebrews 4:1b but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Jesus was tempted and tried in all ways. He knows exactly what were going through. He can help us and comfort us because He knows our pain. The benefit of all of this is Jesus can help us to remain strong through our suffering.
D. Peter says therefore since Christ has suffered and since you will suffer sometime in your lifetime, equip yourself with the same mind that Jesus Christ had. What was that mind of Christ?
E. Ministering to the lost. God used His only begotten Son to leave the throne of Heaven so that He might suffer, and through His suffering, it lead many to the saving knowledge of salvation.
Do you know how cranberries are harvested? When the fruit is ripe, the cranberry bog is flooded with water. As the water covers the bush, the ruby red berries separate from the bush and float to the surface where they are gathered and distributed to cranberry lovers around the country.
In light of cranberries God uses flood waters of trouble and trials to sweep over our souls, and what’s the result? Fruit “meet for the Master’s uses” released to bless and meet the needs of the hungry world around you?
F. It was through Christ suffering that lead a thief on a cross to accept salvation through repentance in faith. It was through suffering that made Pontius Pilot wonder.
G. Suffering has been a useful means of reaching a lost and dying world. But you say preacher! Even the lost suffers, yes this is true, but its through your actions and how you handle the trial that leads someone to Christ.
H. So let me ask you, when was the last time you witnessed to someone through your suffering? Do you suffer with the attitude of Christ or do you suffer wanting nothing more than a pity party?
I. In Chapter 3 Noah preached Jesus Christ to a lost world. He was ridiculed and made fun of for making an ark. But in the end eight souls were saved because they trusted God and got into the ark. (Verse 6 of Chp 4 qualifies this thought)
J. It was through suffering of Stephen who was stoned to death that lead Saul to Christ. In Revelation Chapter 6 and 7 there will be many who will be killed for their faith during the tribulation, through their suffering many are led to the Lord.
The mind of Christ in your life is your ministry here on this earth. Heb 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Does that mean that Jesus was happy as He went to the Cross? Does it mean that He looked forward to being beaten, spit upon, and made fun of? No what it means is that through His suffering, it led others to trust Him as their Lord and savior. And as you suffer in life and making it count by arming yourself with the same mind with Christ. The way that you endure your trial will also lead others to Christ. So let me ask you, do others see Christ in your suffering?
To make our lives count through suffering Peter says to:
II. Purge Your Desire To Sin. Vs. 2
A. In other words since you have recognized that you are going to be judged for all of your actions you do, both good and bad, and since your going to suffer here in the body, and since now you have made a conscience effort to arm yourself with the mind of Christ during your suffering, as a result your priorities in life changes.
B. As you suffer you no longer want to sin with “The Boys” but rather your outlook is different. Why? Because all you want is some relief! (The only place your going to find relief is in God, that’s where Jesus found it while on the cross) Your suffering has caused you to change what you used to seem was important to the flesh. Now all you want is God’s will to come out of all of this so that you can relief.
Peter qualifies this in verses 3-6. Peter says that this was the way you used to act. And now your friends can see a difference in your lifestyle. They say hey how come you don’t want to party with us any more? How come you don’t want run the roads to all hours of the night? How come now all you want to do is go to church?
Its because your priorities have changed. You realize that you are going to be judged according to your actions and now your old lifestyle all of the sudden doesn’t sound to fun.
C. There is also one more benefit to purging your desire to sin. Purging Purifies And Strengthens Your Faith Vs 7. It is through affliction and suffering that the greatest lessons of life are learned. This truth is echoed by some of histories great preachers. Samuel Rutherford said when he found himself in the cellars of affliction, "The Great King keeps his wine there." And the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls"
D. In Chapt 1:6,7, Peter calls suffering a trial. A trial can be either a TEMPTATION or a TEST. A temptation seeks to destroy faith, while a test seeks to refine faith. Now we know God is never the source of our temptations, as:
Jam 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." God does not tempt us to sin.
Yet, God does allow evil as a test, to purify and refine our faith. This was true in the case of Adam and Eve, Job and also in the temptation of Jesus. Though God was not the source of these temptations, God allowed it to happen as means of refining and purifying faith.
E. Peter echoes this reality Read Chapt 1:6,7. Therefore suffering is used under the Will of God as a means of refining faith. God uses suffering to prove or to purify our faith. As metal is refined in the fire, so is faith refined in the fire of persecution.
“A blacksmith known for his strong faith, had a great deal of illness. He was challenged by an unbeliever to explain why his God would let him suffer. He explained, "I take a piece of iron, put it into the fire to bring it to a white heat, then I strike it once or twice to see if it will take temper. I plunge it into water to change the temperature, put it into the fire again, then I put it on the anvil and make a useful article out of it.
"If it will not take temper when I first strike it on the anvil, I throw it into the scrap heap and sell it for a half-penny per pound. I believe God has been testing me to see if I will take temper. I have tried to bear it as patiently as I could, and my daily prayer has been, ’Lord, put me into the fire if you will; put me into the water if you think I need it; do anything you please, O Lord, only do not throw me on the scrap heap.”
To make our lives count through suffering Peter says to:
III. Strengthen Those How Suffer Among Us. Vs 8-10
A. As we arm ourselves in the mind of Christ and make suffering a ministry, our faith and priorities are purged. It’s then that we have the ability to help others that are suffering among us.
B. As we help those we are sharing Christ with others we too can here the same words Jesus told Peter;
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
C. By what strength do we possess that allows us to strengthen the brethren? Its through the same strength that helped Jesus endure the cross to the end. God the Father. And the beauty of it is, we have that same ability to possess that strength as well.
D. Sometimes it takes a supernatural strength when it comes to coming to the aid of someone who needs comfort as they endure their trial. But listen what Jesus has to say:
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Helen Keller once said: Although the world is full of suffering, it is also filled with overcoming.
E. Read verse 11 with me. Minister there is the same word where we get the word “Deacon” it means to serve. Or in this context as we have the mind of Christ and as we make our suffering count for righteousness, and as our life is purged from sin and our faith is strengthened we are to comfort those that are suffering as a servant for God from whom God gives ability (strength)
F. Strengthening those that are suffering around us brings a picture of Jesus Christ. Jesus throughout His ministry led by example by strengthening those that suffered around Him. He strengthened the blind, the lame, the ones who lost loved ones, the hurting, broken hearted which in turn lead them to trusting in Him for eternal Salvation.
G. When we apply strengthening those around us to our lifestyle it’s then the God reaps the fruits of our lives as others are led to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by witnessing our endurance and ability to handle our suffering and as a result a portrait of Jesus is displayed through you.
H. As you lead others to Christ through our suffering and not through our complaining God gets the Honor and Glory which is ultimately makes our lives count from suffering.
Hey are you suffering right now? Again suffering comes in all shapes and sizes and we all deal with some sort of suffering. Financial burdens, relationships, maybe its an addiction to alcohol, gambling, and the list goes on. God knows your heart and what’s going on in your life.
He wants to uses your suffering not for the bad but for the good if you will allow Him. He wants to give you strength to purge yourself from your lustful desires. He wants to build your faith, and He wants to uses you to be His ambassador, His servant to help others who are going through the same sufferings you are going through.
If your suffering here this morning the first step is to arm yourself with the same mind of Christ (Expound)
If you’re a COG and haven’t been applying these principles would you do so know. (Music)We are all going to be judged but it only makes sense to make every minute of our lives count, were not promised ten minutes from now, but we do have right now. Would you make it count?
Would you pray with me and lift up those here this morning that are suffering. Asking God to use us as a local body, suffering together so that God might get Praise Honor and Glory.
