Troubleshooting Our View of Suffering

for our good and for your glory we pray amen

now again if you have your bibles and perhaps you can open them at the book of first peter

and keep them open there at first peter chapter 4 and we're going to be in verses 12 to 19 just

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

two more sundays in first peter this one and then keith will finish up our time in chapter 5

next week so first peter chapter 4 at verse 12 dear friends do not be surprised at the fiery

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

ordeal that has come on you to test you as though something strange were happening to you

but rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of christ so that you may be overjoyed

when his glory is revealed if you are insulted because of the name of christ you are blessed

for the spirit of glory and of god rests on you if you suffer it should not be as a murderer or thief

or any other kind of criminal or even as a meddler however if you suffer as a christian do not be

ashamed but praise god that you bear that name for it is time for judgment to begin with god's household

and if it begins with us what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of god and

if it is hard for the righteous to be saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner so then

those who suffer according to god's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator

and continue to do good amen this is god's word for us today so what we're going to think about today

as peter continues to take us to the theme of suffering is about troubleshooting our view of

suffering and especially our view of suffering as christians now i am sure that we are most of us

at least or probably all of us familiar with troubleshooting many times it is a modern day

lifesaver isn't it your computer freezes or your washing machine won't spin or you find your phone is out

of memory what do we do perhaps almost by instinct now we either go to our troubleshooting guide or we

look up online for those set of questions that are given to us that logical working through of questions

to identify the source of our problems ideally then to provide the simple fix

what's the problem that peter is bringing to us he's bringing to us the problem of suffering

suffering as a christian suffering because you are a follower of jesus now we've seen through this

letter that that for the people that peter writes to that's that's things like insults and rejection

and slander it's the beginning of opposition and perhaps the question that emerges is that

why am i suffering i'm trying to be faithful to jesus why is this happening why should i bother being a

follower of jesus if life becomes hard for me a few months ago i was recommending a book called

evangelism as exiles it was written by a guy called elliot clark who'd spent over 10 years in the middle

east and then came back to the states and having lived in a place where persecution was normal

one of the things he was recognizing was that in the western church we really struggle we've got used

to the idea of respect and perhaps we are struggling and sometimes fearful with this new reality that we

tend to be ignored as christians our views are on the margins and we perhaps often find ourselves on the

margins and that can cause us to be fearful and cause us to have questions and that's why i think

first peter is so helpful for us as a church today as he repeatedly remind us about the realities of

suffering and how to respond so we're going to use verses 12 to 19 as a troubleshooting guide with some

questions for when we suffer but before we get to that let me remind each of us of two important

principles and that have governed peter's whole discussion of suffering and he's come back to it again

and again throughout his letter the first big principle is that all of our suffering comes to us

from a sovereign a wise a faithful a good god and father that's important to recognize we can see

that in a couple of places chapter 3 verse 17 for it is better if it is god's will to suffer for doing

good than for doing evil and then the last verse we just read chapter 4 verse 19 so then those who

suffer according to god's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good

so all our suffering passes through the hands of our sovereign wise and good god and also and he keeps

reminding us of this christian suffering is always set in the context of the gospel of a suffering servant

a suffering savior who gave his life in order to save his people to bring them to god and again we can

see that a couple of places chapter 3 verse 18 for christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for the

unrighteous to bring you to god or how he begins chapter 4 therefore since christ suffered in his

body arm yourselves also with the same attitude so we're invited to trust in our good god and we're

invited to remember the reality of the gospel and a savior who loved us and gave himself for us

and now we get to our specifics here we get to our four troubleshooting questions when it comes to

suffering for jesus first of all what is my expectation that's be question number one secondly what is my

attitude when that suffering comes thirdly what is my perspective on the suffering and fourth and finally

what is my response what does life look like when suffering comes my hope is that this will be helpful for us

perhaps laying a foundation perhaps we're not suffering right now for the sake of jesus and we

hear some principles to apply and to reflect on for when that day comes

but some of us will be right in the middle of that right in the heat of suffering for

the gospel and again i hope that these truths will be an encouragement and if we're wondering

it is faith in jesus worth it for not yet christians that hopefully this will a point us towards the

reason why it's worth it even with suffering so let's get to our questions the first question

what is my expectation and this takes us to verse 12 you can look down there at verse 12 and what we

see peter say is don't be surprised by suffering dear friends do not be surprised

at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you as though something strange

were happening to you you gotta love peter's honesty don't you as he recognizes and he's not ashamed of

the fact that suffering is normal not abnormal it's not weird if our friends think that we are weird

because we're followers of jesus with this fiery ordeal image he goes back to something he's already used

chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 the idea of suffering as a refining process we'll come back to that

the reality that god is able to use suffering for his good purposes in our lives and so in a sense

here is peter giving advance warning don't be surprised if following jesus brings suffering

we recognize that if we think about the life of jesus

we think about what happened when jesus came to earth we see the evil targeted jesus

as an infant king herod tried to have jesus killed as he began his public ministry the devil tried to

pull jesus off course from following god's will and as hostile forces came together to have jesus

arrested and then killed on the cross we recognize jesus life was one marked by suffering and peter says

remember we follow in his footsteps

peter of course heard the words of jesus for example in john chapter 18 if the world hates you

John 18 · chapter mention

keep in mind that it hated me first a servant is not above his master

so our most basic question is what do i expect peter says don't be surprised by suffering

it's a challenge to us it's a challenge to us because we live in a very comfortable part of the world and we

live in the culture of comfort makes us ask the question am i ready to count the cost for following

jesus am i ready to share this as part of our message knowing that people like ease and leisure

and pleasure nobody likes the idea of suffering and cost is this something that i'm going to share

with someone as i share the reality of of the gospel that it might involve and it should involve

suffering for jesus in different times and in different ways do we recognize that suffering

for the sake of jesus is not a bad thing to avoid at all costs

peter also gives us encouragement the encouragement that when we suffer we're not alone in the sense that

it's not something that's unique and unusual for us rather it's normal but there's also the comfort of

shared support what we are going through brothers and sisters in christ perhaps are going through too

or have been through and so there is support and fellowship for us in our sufferings built into the

church and even more than that we recognize that jesus does not leave us alone as we suffer for him

i've been reading a book by paul tripp about church leadership and he says this he says at the heart of

every hope that the gospel offers is a suffering servant jesus is our hope he's the center of all our

hopes all our hopes are pinned on him and without his willingness to suffer even to death there would be

no forgiveness there would be no church so we suffer we think about suffering we must never lose sight of

what jesus suffered for our sake so that's the first question what's my expectation we're told not to be

surprised by suffering second question what's my attitude and here peter using again very striking

language says that we can rejoice in suffering for jesus in verses 13 to 16 now normally in about two

weeks time our city would be so inundated by people coming from all over the country all over the world to

run the edinburgh marathon and we can look back fondly on those days and the travel chaos that we used to

have on a sunday morning when the when the marathon was on um i don't know if you've noticed i i spot

them still occasionally the people wearing the blue t-shirts uh proudly saying edinburgh marathon

finisher and sometimes they're like really old t-shirts sometimes they're just from a couple of years back

whenever i see that my my thought is always how in the world has anyone put themselves through that

much suffering i was like no wonder they're wearing that if i managed to finish a marathon i'd be

wearing that i'd be wearing the medal and everything it's a badge of honor isn't it if you complete that

most grueling of races the t-shirt it's that badge of honor i suffered by finished as peter continues

troubleshooting our view of suffering he uses really striking language in this section so verse 13

you see he talks about rejoicing in verse 14 he talks about being blessed in verses 15 and 16 he

says it's not a social shame rather it should be a source of honor to suffer for jesus in other words

christian suffering should be like that marathon t-shirt it should be a badge of honor for us as the

people of god that we are so closely identified with jesus that we have the privilege of suffering for him

now what does he mean and what does he not mean when he talks about this how can he call us to rejoice

well let's have a look at the language let's look at verse 13 and think about what he says about joy

rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of christ so that you may be overjoyed

when his glory is revealed again he's calling to mind that as christians we follow in the footsteps of

jesus jesus jesus life on earth was one of suffering first before entering into glory

and that's where our joy is found

that that will be our joy too that we will see and enjoy the glory of jesus in the glory of heaven

and so we can have joy as we keep our eye on the prize as we remember future glory that's laid up

for us we don't rejoice in suffering for suffering's sake we rejoice because there's a reward coming

then in verse 14 he talks about being blessed

and notice how he reminds us again of the nature of their suffering verse 14 if you are insulted

because the name of christ you are blessed

for the spirit of glory and of god rests on you

there is blessing to be insulted as a follower of jesus it is evidence of faith the reality that the

spirit of god lives in a believer that the glory of god is made visible

that we get to bring glory to god as we suffer there's blessing in that

again we remember that peter heard the teaching of jesus and no doubt peter is remembering

words of jesus in the sermon on the mount at the end of the beatitudes

let me remind you of what jesus said in matthew chapter 5 and verse 11

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you

because of me so there's the qualifier that's always there because of jesus rejoice and be glad

there's a rejoice word as well because great is your reward in heaven so there's blessing because there's

reward because we're identified with jesus and because we have the spirit in us and then verse 15 and 16

we see that there's honor to bear christ's name now we recognize in verse 15 not all suffering

it is good and honorable he says if you if you suffer for being a criminal for hating and hurting others

or if you suffer for being a busy body that's meddling in the lives of others there's no honor

in that rather that's that's a shameful thing for a christian but verse 16 however if you suffer as a

christian do not be ashamed but praise god that you bear that name there is again there's no shame

in suffering because you are a christian rather there is honor maybe not honor from the world but honor

from god takes us again to peter's own example if you read acts chapter 5 it's a wonderful chapter

Acts 5 · chapter mention

of courageous faith peter and some of the apostles they've been arrested they've been told stop talking

about jesus and they say well we can't we got to obey god not men and so eventually they're released

but not before they've been beaten before they've been flogged and what's said of peter and the other

apostles is that they they came back to the church and they were rejoicing why were they rejoicing after

being beaten and imprisoned rejoicing because they've been counted worthy of suffering disgrace

for the name

to so honor jesus to recognize the privilege of being one of his is to be able to rejoice in suffering

that's the attitude that we are to have but that's a hard attitude to have isn't it that's really hard

to cultivate to have joy as we suffer for jesus is that a t-shirt i'm ready to wear as a badge of honor

that will only be true if we see jesus is worth it only true if we understand all that jesus has done for us

the bible is inviting us to see suffering for jesus as a gift of god's grace

freeing us from focus on ourself and pursuing happiness in in self and now rather pursuing ultimate

happiness in jesus our savior having our life centered on him we're being invited to see suffering for jesus

as a source as a source of honor not shame think about that if someone else sees something of jesus

in us if somebody else hears about jesus from us that should be a good thing

we should be glad of that even if people don't respond well there's honor in that

and of course he's reminding us always to see suffering for jesus in light of the gospel

our suffering can seem hard seem all-encompassing until we think about jesus suffering and dying to

forgive us suffering and dying to adopt us into his family suffering and dying to give us eternal life

suffering and dying to show us the full extent of god's love for us and in that light then our suffering

seems so small and temporary especially when we remember our reward is eternal and that takes us

towards the third troubleshooting question which is this what's my perspective on suffering and here in

verses 17 and 18 we are certainly being reminded that suffering for the christian it refines and not

destroys again going back to that that picture from verse 12 and back to first peter chapter 1 let me read

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

verses 6 and 7 of first peter 1 you can turn there if you have your bible in all this you greatly rejoice

though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials

these have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold which perishes

even though refined by fire may result in praise glory and honor when jesus christ is revealed so

peter uses this image for the church to think about suffering imagine a furnace and that process of

applying fire and heat to a metal ore in order to burn off the impurities so that we might be left with pure

metal with solid gold that purifying process and when we think about that being applied to a person's life

that brings a lot of heat that sounds uncomfortable but there's promise the end result is pure gold so peter uses

this picture in this section to say that that suffering that's the heat and we remember of course that suffering comes

from god's wise and loving hands as he purifies and tests his people with the result that

those who pass the test those who have true faith are those who are saved

so let's bear that in mind as we follow the logic of verses 17 and 18

verse 17 says for it is time

for judgment to begin with god's household

remember malachi 3

when the lord came where did he come first the lord would come

to the temple where would the refining the testing process begin it would begin

among among among the levites and the priests and now judgment will begin with god's household

new testament language for the church

god has this work of testing this fire of testing now for the people of god

and notice in our section there is a contrast drawn

between god's household also in verse 18 known as the righteous

and those in verse 17 who do not obey the gospel of god

those who reject the gospel and verse 18 the ungodly and the sinner so two

different people groups types in view and the key point for us to recognize is this

that yes peter says christians suffer and are tested in this life and that is to use the language of verse 18

that's heart simply put the the road of the christian faith which involves suffering for jesus

it will not always be easy it is heart but the final outcome

is that we are saved

yes there is pain but there is great gain

those hard experiences that we go through those

those fires of testing to use the imagery is the worst that christians will ever face

we will never face a worse judgment but rather we look forward when our faith is in jesus to an

eternity of joy and peace and without suffering

that's the perspective we need to have

that yes we suffer now but we will not suffer then

rather we have joy to come

but then the flip side

as peter gives this solemn reminder

to reject jesus

to say no to his forgiveness

his point is that if if christians suffer now how much worse will

judgment be for those who reject the gospel who say no

to jesus that won't just be temporary that will be

eternal eternal loss and not gain

so our perspective on suffering for jesus matters so much

it matters that we recognize it's not punishment

it's purifying

it's not a sign that we've been abandoned and forgotten by god but rather

he is testing us for his good purposes even when we can't necessarily always see that

it's important that we take this long-term view of suffering that we would be ready to suffer now for jesus

because we long for eternal glory

recognizing that to say no to jesus

is to face the prospect of eternal misery

we recognize through the teaching of the bible that jesus has come to destroy evil that jesus has come to destroy

sin all that's wrong with the world all that's wrong in our hearts jesus has come to deal with that

and he will return to deal with that once and for all but even right now there's a refining process going on in the hearts of his people

that jesus is working renewal in us

right now and that process will be complete when he

returns

and so we need to have that perspective

so that we might trust god to do his work in us even when that involves

suffering

our final

troubleshooting question

is this one what's my

response what am i going to do

when suffering comes

how am i going to live

peter urges us to trust god

and do good

it's there in verse 19

so then those who suffer according to god's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator

and continue to do good

peter and his troubleshooting guide has told us suffering for jesus is normal not strange

suffering for jesus marks us out as his so it could be cause of joy and not despair

suffering for jesus is part of god's work in us so we can persevere and not give up

and now he takes us to this final question

when suffering comes

which way are we going to go how are we going to respond

for exploring christianity is this our response we're ready to make when we think about verse 19 and in light of suffering

as we've lived as christians for years when suffering comes are we ready to keep

going in this pattern

one that we would trust god

commit ourselves to god

commit ourselves to his care

recognizing two things that peter draws to mind here one

that we commit ourselves to our faithful god

the one who's faithful to his promises

faithful to his people

faithful and true to his own character

and that he is a faithful

creator

he's in control

he knows us he knows what's best for us

he can be trusted he knows what he's

doing

so we commit ourselves to our faithful creator and

we continue doing good

which in this context means keep on living for jesus

even if that brings us into more suffering

remember that's the thing that brings the suffering is doing good

so we trust god and we continue to love and serve jesus love and serve others well

challenging isn't it

can i entrust my life to god in the bad times and in the good times

can i trust the character of god and especially can i trust the character of god as i see it revealed in jesus

can i entrust my life to god as i remember

the gospel

as i remember all that jesus has done

it's really interesting peter uses the same language

of jesus himself in first peter chapter 2

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

and let me read again first peter 2 and at verse 21

to this you were called

suffer for doing good

to this you were called because christ suffered for you

leaving you an example

that you should follow in his steps

he committed no sin

and no deceit was found in his mouth

when they hurled their insults at him he did not retaliate

when he suffered he made no threats

instead

he entrusted himself

to him who judges justly

jesus entrusted himself

to his father

and he invites us as his people

to do the same

to trust him

and continue

doing good

so peter's been helping us to troubleshoot our response to suffering

peter's realistic and the bible is realistic

that suffering will come for the people of god

and that's why he spends so much time on the topic

with these young christians

our culture

and most likely our natural temperament

would make us want to avoid suffering

would make it perhaps hard for us to learn lessons

to see that god can do something good as we suffer

and so peter has looked always to keep us close to two big truths

about the fact that our suffering comes from our god

and our god can be trusted

and he's faithful

and he's wise

and he's good

and that jesus suffered for us

jesus came as god's answer to sin and suffering

jesus gives the hope of a world without sin and suffering

jesus gives strength today

to respond well in our suffering

so when we think about suffering for jesus name

is it something that we will expect

be ready for

ready to see god's purpose in it

to have that right perspective on it

and will we commit ourselves

to our faithful creator

to jesus our savior

and continue to do good

let's pray for his help

in that

let's pray

lord god we recognize that

that no suffering in and of itself

is enjoyable

but we thank you that

you are a wise and a good and a faithful

and a trustworthy god

and that if it is your will that we suffer

for the sake of jesus

you have good purposes behind that

so we pray that you would help us

to be ready to commit ourselves to you

our faithful creator

that we would be committed

to living for the glory of the lord jesus

because we recognize all he has suffered

in our place

to bring us salvation

that in light of the gospel

it would seem a small thing

and indeed it would seem like a great act of worship for us

to suffer for the sake of the lord jesus

help us to respond well we pray

prepare our hearts

so that when suffering comes

that we might live for you

we pray in jesus name

amen

now we will hear

as we close

a hymn

i will wait for you

out of the depths i cry to you

in darkest places i will call

incline your ear to me

and hear my cry for mercy lord

were you to count my sinful ways

how could i come before your throne

yet full forgiveness meets my gaze

i stand redeemed by grace alone

i will wait for you

i will wait for you

on your word

i will be life

i will wait for you

surely wait for you

till my soul

is satisfied

so put your hope in god alone

take courage in his power to save

completely and forever

completely and forever

one

by christ's emerging

from the grave

i will wait for you

i will wait for you

on your word

i will rely

i will wait for you

surely wait for you

till my soul

is satisfied

now he has come

to make a way

and god himself

has paid the price

that all who trust in him today

finds healing

finds healing in his sacrifice

i will wait for you

i will wait for you

on your word

i will rely

i will wait for you

surely wait for you

till my soul

is satisfied

i will wait for you

i will wait for you

through the storm

and through the night

i will wait for you

surely wait for you

for your love

is my delight

let's stand together

for our closing prayer

which is drawn from

some of moses final words

as he blesses the people of god

deuteronomy 33

Deuteronomy 33:12

verse 12

let the beloved of the lord

rest secure in him

for he shields him

all day long

and the one the lord loves

rests between his shoulders

the eternal god is your refuge

and underneath

are the everlasting arms

amen

who five

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.