This Trouble is For GOOD!
As Wes and I
were driving down the highway, I told him, “You know, this Spirit filled life
is a cinch!” He looked at me as if to
say, “What are you talking about?” and I
quickly added, “that is until something goes wrong!”
Something
goes wrong could mean any number of things in different folks’ lives: financial ruin, sorrow over a death, poor
health, bad medical reports, disappointments in people or circumstances…and on
and on the list could go.
What if we
lost our freedom …persecution and death seemed imminent? We have no guarantee that our situation will
be carefree and untroubled! In fact in
some parts of our world today, believers are suffering and sometimes dying for
their Christian walk.
Yes, BAD
times are bound to confront every Christian.
When you
suffer for doing what is wrong (such as going 70 in a 50 mile zone), it is
relatively easy to bear. After all, you
merely got what was coming to you for improper behavior. But what happens when you suffer for doing
what is RIGHT (such as telling the truth…and getting fired for it?) Then you are faced with a choice. 1. You
can respond like the world (retaliation and revenge). 2. You can respond like the Thessalonians
(who thought they were out of God’s will when in face, they were precisely in
the middle of it II Thess. 1:1-2 3.You
can respond like the Hebrew Christians (who were considering abandoning their
faith in Christ when the “heat” was on 4. You can respond like Jesus Christ (who
entrusted His unfair treatment to God and returned love for hatred. I Pet. 2:21-23
Take a
situation in which you are suffering unjustly today and apply one of the four
solutions – the one you know would please God the most.
Good ol’
Peter, the fisherman who changed professions to fish for men: He knew that the church was entering a
different stage of experience. He had
dealt with the ordinary ‘normal’ persecution that Christians experience but now
he is speaking of a special kind of persecution—a FIERY TRIAL that was about to
overtake the entire church…OFFICIAL persecution from those above them. Thus far in I Peter, Christianity had been
tolerated by Rome because it was considered a
“sect of Judaism and the Jews were permitted to worship freely. That attitude would change and the fires of
persecution would be ignited, first by Nero and then by the emperors that
followed.
Peter gives
four instructions to follow in the light of “fiery trials”:
·
EXPECT SUFFERING (V. 12)
Christians are different from unbelievers and hopefully this produces a
different kind of lifestyle. A Christian
builds his life on truth, humility, holiness and the desire to glorify God
through yielding and the LORD’s life to be lived through Him. Rather than lies, pride, pleasure, and the
desire to “get more”.
Jesus explained to His disciples that they should expect opposition and
persecution from the world…but He also gave them an encouraging promise, “In
the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world (John 12:23-33, Gal 6:14.
Often fire is used when describing testing or persecution. In the O.T. fire was a symbol of the holiness
of God and the presence of God. The fire
on the altar consumed the sacrifice, but Peter saw in the image of fire a
REFINING PROCESS rather than a divine judgment.
Not all difficulties of lie are fiery trials. Some are simply a part of human life and
almost everybody experiences them. We
bring some difficulties upon ourselves through disobedience/sin. The fiery trial comes because we are faithful
to God and stand up for that which is right.
It is because we bear the name of Christ that the lost world attacks
us. Persecution and trials do not just
“happen” in the sense of being accidents.
They are a part of God’s plan and He is in control. They are part of Rom. 8:28 and will work out
for good if we let God have His way.
·
REJOICE IN SUFFERING (V. 13-14)
Literally Peter is saying “Be
constantly rejoicing”…four times in 2 verses he mentions in one form or
another. The world will never understand
a rejoicing Christian because they have never experienced His grace!
Peter names privileges that we share that encourage us to rejoice in the
midst of the fiery trial:
1. Our suffering means fellowship with
Christ…an honor and a privilege…a gift from God (Phil. 1:29 3:10) Christ is
with us in the furnace of persecution…with the Hebrew children in the furnace,
with Paul in all his trials, and He promises to be with us “to the end of the
age.” Matt. 28:20. When sinners persecute us, they are really
persecuting Jesus.
2. Our suffering means glory in the
future. Suffering and glory are twin
truths. The world believes that the
absence of suffering means glory, but a Christian’s outlook is different. The Lord does not replace suffering with
glory..rather He will transform suffering into glory. Illustrations: woman has a baby…pain replaced with joy,
thorn in the flesh for Paul gave him power and glory; the cross which gave
Jesus shame and pain also brought power and glory! We pay a price TODAY in order to have
enjoyments in the FUTURE. The piano
student; the athlete..our sufferings will one day be transformed into glory and
we will be glad also with exceeding joy!
3. Our suffering brings to us the ministry
of the Holy Spirit. V.14 Shekinah glory of God that dwelt in the
tabernacle and in the temple. In other
words, the Christians who suffers does not have to wait for heaven in order to
experience His glory. That explains how
martyrs could sing praise sot God while bound in the midst of blazing
fires. AND how some can go to prison and
to death without complaining or resisting their captors.
4. Our suffering enables us to glorify
His name. Our authority is in the name
of Jesus and Satan hates that name.
Every time we are reproached for the name of Christ, we have the opportunity
to bring glory to that name. The name
Christian carries the idea of “a Christ one, belonging to Christ.” It is a privilege to bear the name and to
suffer for His name’s sake.
EXAMINE YOUR LIFE (v. 15-18)
The fiery trial is a
refining process, by which God removes the dross and purifies us:
…Why am I suffering? Did I do something which I should suffer
for? Let’s be sure we are suffering
because we are Christians and not because we are criminals.
…Am I ashamed or
glorifying Christ v.16? Peter was likely
reminded of his own denial of Christ. If
we seek to glorify God, then we will not be ashamed of the name of Jesus
Christ.
…Am I seeking to win the
lost v. 17-18? When a believer suffers,
he experiences glory and knows that there will be greater glory in the
future. Instead of being concerned only about
ourselves, we need to be concerned about the lost sinners around us. Our present fiery trial is nothing compared
with the flaming fire that shall punish the lost when Jesus returns in
judgment. (Proverbs 11:31) Times of
persecution are times of opportunity for a loving witness to those who
persecute us. It was not the earthquake
that brought the Philippian jailer to Christ, but it was Paul’s loving concern
for him. As Christian, we do not seek
for vengeance on those who have hurt us.
Rather, we pray for them and seek to lead them to Jesus.
COMMIT YOURSELF TO God (V.19)
“To deposit for
safekeeping” … II Tim 1:12 We you
deposit your life in God’s bank, you always receive eternal dividends on your
investment. This reminds us that we are
valuable to God. He made us, redeemed
us, lives in us, guard and protects us.
When you deposit your life with God, you have nothing to fear for He is
able to keep you.
This commitment is not a
single action, but a constant attitude!!!!
As we return good for evil and do good even though we suffer for it, we
are committing ourselves to God so that He can care for us. This commitment involves every area of our
lives and every hour of our lives.
Unsaved people have a
present that is controlled by their past, but Christians have a present that is
controlled by the future.
Our heavenly Father is
the “Lord of heaven and earth”. With
such a Father, we have no need to worry!
A fiery trial will come to God’s church to unite and purify it…that it
might be a strong witness to the lost.
There is nothing for us to fear if we are suffering for the will of
God. Our faithful Father-Creator will
victoriously see us through!!
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