Entrusting Your Soul to a Faithful Creator

October 21, 2018 · 1 Peter

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Series · 1 Peter · Week 17 of 25

Scripture referenced 6 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

1 Peter 4 primary text of the sermon, covering suffering as a Christian, not being ashamed, glorifying God in the name of Christ, and judgment beginning with the household of God

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;
2 that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
4 They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:
5 who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
8 And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.
11 If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.
13 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.
15 For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.
16 But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
18 “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.

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James 1:2-4

quoted to show that trials of various kinds produce endurance and lead to being perfect and complete

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

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1 Peter 1

referenced as the opening doxology where Peter says 'in this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while you have been distressed by various trials' and the proof of faith being more precious than gold tested by fire

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you,

5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,

7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—

8 whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory—

9 receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,

11 searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them.

12 To them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.

13 Therefore prepare your minds for action, be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ—

14 as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance,

15 but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;

16 because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”

17 If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear:

18 knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,

19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ;

20 who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake,

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.

22 Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:

23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.

24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;

25 but the Lord’s word endures forever.” This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.

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Matthew 5:11

quoted as Jesus saying 'blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil things'

11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

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Hebrews 11

read at length as the hall of faith, listing Abraham, the Red Sea, Jericho, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets who suffered and endured by faith

1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.

2 For by this, the elders obtained testimony.

3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.

5 By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.

6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

7 By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.

9 By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised.

12 Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

15 If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return.

16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son,

18 to whom it was said, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac”;

19 concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.

20 By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

21 By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22 By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave instructions concerning his bones.

23 By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

24 By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

25 choosing rather to share ill treatment with God’s people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;

26 accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

27 By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

29 By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.

30 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.

31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.

32 What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;

33 who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.

35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36 Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.

39 These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn’t receive the promise,

40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

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Daniel 3

read at length telling the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden image and being cast into the blazing furnace

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

3 Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then the herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,

5 that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

6 Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.”

7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.

9 They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for ever!

10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;

11 and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

17 If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

20 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.”

25 He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire.

27 The satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed, the smell of fire wasn’t even on them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

29 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message came from 1 Peter and walked the congregation through what it looks like to keep trusting God while suffering for bearing Christ's name. Pastor drew on the broader context of the early church under Nero to show that persecution was not a surprise to Peter or to the people he was writing to. The sermon was a call to keep entrusting your soul to a faithful Creator even when the heat is intense.

What was said

Peter opens his address with the word "Beloved," and Pastor paused on that. This is the same impetuous man who jumped out of the boat, cut off a man's ear, and denied Jesus three times on the night of the arrest. He has been restored, and now he writes to scattered, suffering people with that word: beloved. The tenderness matters because everything that follows is hard.

Peter tells his readers not to be surprised by the fiery ordeal. Pastor connected that phrase to the literal fires Nero was using in Rome, lighting the streets and his gardens with Christians as torches. But he also connected it to James 1, where trials of every kind are described as the testing that produces endurance. Suffering was not evidence that something had gone wrong. It was the expected condition of following a crucified Lord.

To explain what suffering does, Pastor pulled from his background as an art student who had done foundry work with silicon bronze. When metal is heated to an extreme temperature, the dross rises to the top. It looks ugly, but the heat is what brings the impurity to the surface so it can be scooped away. He applied that image directly to the Christian life: the trials we go through bring our junk to the surface, and God has given us a way to deal with it through confession and the cleansing that follows. If the dross is never removed, whatever is poured from that crucible will not ring true.

Peter commands his readers to keep on rejoicing to the degree that they share in Christ's sufferings, and Pastor was honest that rejoicing is not the natural response to suffering. But Peter grounds the command in what is coming: at the revelation of Christ's glory, there will be rejoicing with exaltation. He also draws a line between suffering as a Christian and suffering because you have done wrong. If you suffer as a murderer or a thief or a troublesome meddler, that is a different matter. The call is to make sure any accusation against you is a lie.

Peter says judgment begins with the household of God, and Pastor tied that to the image of the crucible again. Watching the metal, paying attention to what rises, being of sound judgment and sober for the purpose of prayer. He talked about accountability as one of the ways God activates real change, where people get honest with each other about what is surfacing in their lives. A bell poured with the dross still in it will not sound like a bell. The same is true for a life where the junk is never dealt with.

The preacher spent time on Hebrews 11, reading through the long list of those who acted in faith and suffered for it, some receiving miracles and some receiving only chains and death. The point was the same one Peter makes: belief comes first. These people entrusted themselves to God before they saw the outcome, and that is the posture Peter is calling his readers back to repeatedly throughout the letter.

He closed with two examples. First, Daniel 3, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stand before Nebuchadnezzar and say, in effect, God can deliver us, but if not, we still will not bow. That "but if not" is the nerve of the whole sermon. Second, he quoted at length from the writing of Charles Spurgeon, who preached through severe depression and personal suffering and kept returning to the sympathy of Jesus as the thing that sustained him. The point landing at the end was from James: blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, because when he has passed the test, he will receive the life God has promised to those who love Him.

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Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Peter wrote this letter as a man who had denied Christ and then been restored to Him. How does knowing that background change the way you hear him say 'Beloved' and call his readers to endure suffering without shame?
The pastor used the image of refining bronze in a foundry, where heat causes dross to rise to the top so it can be scooped off. What has suffering in your own life brought to the surface that you had to deal with, and how did that process affect you?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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5:24 Speaker 1Where are the men? Where are the men? Alright. Men's fraternity every Wednesday at 6AM. Also, we'll be meeting in this room.

5:31 Right? Alright. Good deal. There in your bulletin, there's more information about more Bible studies, and they're spread all throughout the week and all throughout this valley and in the valley on the other side of the hill. So if you would, look and see in there and see if there's something that fits you, and then go for it.

5:50 Anything else? Is there anything else? Another nine. The other thing is Operation Christmas Child. Okay.

5:56 Operation Christmas Child. Do y'all know what that is? There is a general feeling of yes. Okay. If not, find somebody who did this and ask them.

6:06 And find that guy right there. There are boxes out there. They're little shoe boxes. We will fill them. You will fill them, but it's from 04/06.

16:40 That you are there

16:41 Speaker 2with that. Okay. It's no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Catch this part. This really stuck with me this week.

16:51 Praise God for the privilege of being called by somebody. Isn't that great? It is a privilege to be called by God's name. That's why there's that's why we ought not to be ashamed of the gospel of thee because

20:52 Speaker 1travail in a lot of ways. It's it's uplooking more at you and seeing your business and your holiness and wanting to reflect and translate that for the rest of this world and find ourselves rebuffed at every turn. And so, Lord, we want to come to you this morning and say, we continue to trust you. We continue, Lord, to believe, and we want for this message of hope to go forward. Without you, Lord, there would be no hope without you.

21:25 This life would be hopeless. And so, God, I pray that you would extend your kingdom, to apart as far as being written. James was about 49 AD, and first Peter was about 64 ish, '64 or so AD. And in that fifteen years, things had intensified as far as and followers of the way. There were more of them.

27:58 They were spread out further, and the the persecution was becoming a greater thing, not a lesser thing. And it would go on to become even greater than than it is at this time. It's hard to imagine because Nero was in charge when Peter wrote this book. But I've called this if I had to nail it down, I'd get it more encouragement to entrust ourselves the faithful creator in doing what is right. So it's about believing.

28:25 First, believe, and then it's about doing, following that up. A call to holiness is found throughout, and encouragement to endure suffering is found throughout this whole book. But this is more encouragement to continue or keep on entrusting our soul to get stricken in place. So here we go. Beloved.

28:44 Oh, I just love Peter. Beloved. We hear this a little bit in John. You hear John say this all the time. Beloved or dearly beloved my dearly beloved children.

28:53 But Peter, this great apostle, leader of the gang, you know, the of the 12. But he's had so many of those impetuous moments, jumping out of the boat, cutting off the guy's ear. All of those, and then the denials on the night of. But he's been restored by a loving, loving savior. And he was restored to work.

29:18 He was able to understand what it's like from sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Adjust your mind to that. Of Be of sound judgment, sober for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude multitude of sin. Be hospitable, a friend of the stranger, a loving to strangers, to one another without complaint, just as each one has received a special gift so ir I'm to own.

30:34 The variegated grace of God. There are different braces of God. Do you get that? Some of them are darker, and some of them are brighter and lighter. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God employed to serve on one another, whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the very utterances of God.

30:52 Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. And we talked about several times, and he wrote the charts. He was lighting his garden with Christians at garden parks. He's lighting the streets of Rome with Christians. It was an actual fiery ordeal in Rome, and it was reaching further and further out into the Roman Empire.

31:37 And he said, don't be surprised that the fiery ordeal among you I mean, if you just stop right there and think about the crucified Christ, and you're his followers. Depends on the context. It also depends upon the response often. The word, it's a trial. It's tempting to fail the trial.

32:26 Does that make sense? James one two through four, he did this last week. Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter variegated all types of various trials, knowing that you're knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect results so that you may be perfect and complete and lacking Now I wanna talk to you just a minute. I used to I've mentioned this every once in while that I was an art major way back then, and I've never done any refining of gold. I've never done that before, but I have done a lot of of of foundry work with bronze.

33:24 And so we use silicon bronze. Silicon bronze flows a little better than old fashioned bronze. So we that's what we would use. We'd heat it up to extremely high temperatures, and it would become liquid. And when it became liquid, the dross would rise to the top.

33:37 And when that dross would rise to the top, it would look all crusty and yucky and nasty. But the the rest below the surface is glowing hot, and it's been tested with fire. And it has all of the junk and impurity rises to the top. And you take a scooper, it looks like a slotted spoon, a little stronger, about this big. And you take it, and you just take the draw off the top, and you pinch it.

34:02 And you keep doing that until what is there is all pure. Silicon front in my case. This, he's he's compared to the goal already in this book because you're refining it, and the degree of heat that it goes to makes it even stronger and higher. There's also something about tempering steel. I think it'd be too much for me to try to describe tempering steel, but you get the idea that when you melt something, when you put extreme heat on it, and it gets more and more pure, and the impurities come up and they come to the top.

34:39 And then you have to deal with it. Does that make sense? To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, that's the heat that you're going through. Keep on rejoicing. It's a process.

34:54 It's a process of refining that you're going through. It will bring up junk when you're going through this process and stuff will surface, and you it will God has given us a way. He's given us a way of removing actual guilt and dealing with actual junk. Be of sin the double cure, save from wrath, and make me pure. Salvation and sanctification.

35:30 Okay? But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing. Do you think of Jesus in his suffering as rejoicing? Not generally.

35:53 I don't either. He's telling us, though, to keep on rejoicing. Now he's pointing to a whole lot of stuff. I'm actually taking some leaps from the text right here to other places because this theme comes up a lot. This theme of refinement of the fire comes up a lot to the degree that you share the suffering that caused.

36:12 You just keep on rejoicing. Some of the people that he was writing to would be martyred, and he himself was to be martyred. He knew that probably some of the people that he had written to had already you know, their friends had already been murdered. And so they could see this coming. To the degree that you share the suffering of Christ, he was murdered.

36:37 Murdered actually means a witness, So to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, it might be a knocking storm or it might be just a simple dismissive attitude towards you, or it could be as far as actual death. To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, you just keep on rejoicing. And that's actually a command. Keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. At the revealing, there is a time cometh when all will be revealed.

37:15 He's already mentioned this back in first Peter one in that great opening doxology. In this, you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various variegated trials. So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable even though tested by fire, Okay? If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you're blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rest on you. Have people been mocking God since the very beginning?

38:02 Yeah. Our federal head chose to take things into his own hands out of feet. If you're reviled for the name of Christ, you're blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on him. God does know what's best. Does this sound like anybody if you're reviled for the name of Christ?

38:23 Your blood is from the spirit of glory and God rests on you. Matthew five eleven, Jesus said, blessed are you. Evildoer is lesser, but and then it gets to troublesome meddler gossip. Don't let any of you suffer because you are a murderer. He's saying, if you do the crime, expect to do the crime.

39:10 Don't do the wrong and expect that that suffering is something know, don't complain about the suffering if it's your own fault, basically. Are you with me? Let your suffering be because of the name of Christ. Okay? Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a troublesome meddler.

39:45 Actually, this is where Jesus would say falsely because blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil things. Now people might have said about these folks out in the far flung reaches of the Roman Empire that they were cannibals because they're eating the body and the blood of Christ. So cannibalism was one of the charges that they were and that's false. That's crazy. That's not real.

40:11 That Godlessness. Atheism is what they were charged with also too because they only believed in one God and not all of the gods of the Roman Empire, including the emperor as a god. So blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. If somebody has something to say against you that's real bad, let it be a lie. Okay?

40:53 Has murdered him. You know, someone who has lust in their hearts has already committed adultery. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. Jesus would say, and then Peter says right here in four sixteen, but if anyone suffers as a Christian, as a follower of the way, as a follower of Christ, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this. No way I'm not ashamed.

41:19 Not ashamed. Not ashamed of the gospel. Not ashamed of Jesus Christ. If anyone suffers as a Christian, he's not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. The history, the hall of faith, their study of community Bible study, the study on Monday mornings and on Wednesday evenings, they're going through Hebrews.

42:04 And this is one of the culmination of this book. It's written one of the high peas, the triumphs of the faith. Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not seen. For by it, the men of old gained approval of the prophets who were before you. By faith, we understand that the world were prepared by the word of God.

42:23 By faith, Abraham, by faith, they pass through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. By faith, Rahab, the harlot, did not perish along with those who were disobedient. And I love where it gets to the end in verse 32. It says, and what more shall I say?

43:13 For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword. From weakness, they were made strong. They became mighty in war. They put foreign armies to flight.

43:38 When they received back their dead by resurrection, others were tortured, not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others experienced mockings and scourging, yes, also chains and imprisonment. These are the prophets who were before you. They were stoned. They were sown in two.

44:00 They were tempted. They were put to death with a sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskin, being destitute, afflicted, ill treated. Men of whom the world was not worthy, they were wandering in the deserts and the mountains and the caves and the holes in the ground, and all of these having gained approval through their faith. Believe is first.

44:23 When you keep on entrusting yourself to your faithful creator, it's first. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. For in the same way, they persecute the prophets who are before you. If any of you suffers as a Christian, it's not to be ashamed, but it's to glorify God in his name. For it's time for judgment to begin with the household of God.

44:46 Now earlier when I said that, it's time to be of sound judgment and sober, in James, he would say, look at yourself intently in the mirror as to how you are. One of the things about that refinement process is you have to be watching it. You know, the heat is there, and the metal is in the crucible, and it's there. And it's gonna do what it does when heat and metal combine. It's gonna melt, but you have to be watching and paying attention.

45:15 And keep an eye on it. And that junk will rise to the top. It just will, and that's where it's to be dealt with. Scooped and thrown. We used to throw it on concrete floor.

45:28 You just take a scoop of it and sling it on the concrete floor. God has made a way, and he's told us what it is. Through the cross of Calvary, through Jesus' perfect life, perfectly lived, sacrificially given his perfect account. He has made a way for you have to have an account balance of zeroes. Okay?

45:51 No sin debt. He's made a way for that. If you're confessing your sins, he's faithful and just to be forgiving your sins and cleansing you from all unrighteousness. He's given us a mechanism to make that happen. So the scooping the dross and scooping the jump that rises to the top, that's God's work.

46:09 That's what he does. But paying attention really is nice to know when it's coming up, that it's there. Because if you don't pull that off and you wanna make something of value out of it, if you wanna you can heat that up and all the gross rises to the top and you ignore it, completely ignore it. And then when it's time to pour in your let's just say we're making a bell or a bowl. It doesn't matter what you're making, but let's say bell.

46:34 It's gonna be sounded for God's glory. Okay? We're making a bell. And we've got a bowl, and it's prepared, and everything is open. There's an open void waiting for that brass or that brass to be torn into.

46:46 If you heat that and you heat it and all of the junk rises to the top and it's not ladled off and the dross is not removed. When you pour it in there, all that jump goes into that bell. And you know what? That bell is not gonna sound like a bell is supposed to sound. It's not gonna work.

47:06 It's not gonna work. So it's time for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Every time Peter says obey the gospel of God in this, he's talking about people accepting the gospel for what it is. It is the only way to be made right with God.

47:26 It's accepting Jesus' payment for your sin. It's accepting his power for your sanctification. It's time for judgment to begin. We are to look soberly at our own lives and at the lives of those within the church too. It is time for judgment to begin with the household God.

47:47 Accountability groups are very, very powerful, and that's where God activates a lot of change in our lives when we get together and say, you know what? This is not good about me, and I'll share it with you so that you will help me not to be doing this ever again. It's is time time for for judgment judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us first, then what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? This whole thing is about suffering as a Christian, not as an evildoer, not as a meddler, not as a murderer, not as a thief, not as the world does things.

48:20 Soberly pay attention and pray and judge rightly about your own life. He's gonna be pointing us towards in verse 19, he's pointing us towards doing good things, doing what is right. It's not that's not what to say, but but we're already in the household of God. God. Judgment doesn't mean passing.

48:43 If it is with difficulty that the righteous are saved, was it with difficulty that we were saved? Yes. You might think, well, it's kind of a magic thing that God did, and Jesus came and, yeah, he said all these things that were good. He didn't say any I I guess I would say that. And then he died, and then he raced again.

49:05 Big deal. He raced again. Suffered. He suffered this life for thirty years before he started ministry, and then he really suffered. There was a period of conflict and confrontation that just kinda grew until the point that they crucified him.

49:21 He suffered, really. God and man suffered. It was with great difficulty that he saved us, and that and we can be called righteous because he did say There are about two choices. It's it is either heaven or it is hell, and there's great difficulty to get us out of hell. He's saying rejoice because your reward is great in heaven.

50:06 He's pointing towards an incorruptible hope, but at the same time, he's saying there are going to be those who do not make it. Therefore, And I think of this a lot these days. For you've been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no sin, nor with any deceit found in his mouth. And while being reviled, he did not revile in return, and while suffering, he uttered no threats, but he kept on entrusting himself to him who judges rightly. I like that.

50:56 He kept on entrusting himself to the judges rightly. There There is but one judge. How is it? Right? And so we have to answer to him.

51:06 So, therefore, since we have to answer to him, stay in contact with him entrusting soberly. Stay in contact with him of sound judgment and continually entrust your soul to a faithful creator. Those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right. Continue doing what it is that God is leading you to do. Whatever that is that God is leading you to do, continue doing it and walking in it, suffering along the way.

51:37 That's the way that it goes. Continue that entrusting your soul to a faithful, free creator and doing what is right. I use this guy as an example a lot, Martin Luther King. And I I think that I've got lots of paper notes here this morning. I've listened to, I don't know how many times, probably 20 times, a sermon called, but if not.

52:04 Have y'all heard that one? Blake? Daniel three, the king's golden image. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was 60 cubits, its width was six cubits, and he set it up on the Plain Of Dura in the province of Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar, the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

52:47 Then satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the rules of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up and stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. You heard me many times just saying his name. Then the herald loudly proclaimed that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the sultry, the backpipe, and all kinds of music, you are all to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. Therefore, at that time when the peoples all heard the sound of the horn of flute, flute, lyre, tragon, sultry, backpipe, and all kinds of music, All of the people, nations, and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

53:43 For this reason, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, oh king, flip river. It's what they said at the time. You, oh king, you have made a decree to every man who hears the sound, the horn, the flute, the black, the track, and the softly, the backpipe, and all kinds of music is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast in midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

54:10 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shabbat, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, oh king, have disregarded you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up. And then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then these men were brought before the king.

54:34 Nebuchadnezzar responded, said to them, is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lire, the dragon, the soft tree, and the backpipe, and all kinds of evil, to fall down and worship the image that I have made very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. And what God is there who can deliver you? What can you put?

56:18 But if not so God can deliver you from whatever the trial that you're going through is, whatever the the temptation that you're going through is, God can deliver you. But if not, you still don't have to succumb to it. Does that make sense? You still don't have to turn that temptation into a fall. Praise God that he showed Peter that even when you do fall, he can turn it into a benefit letter.

56:42 This self turning man that wrote this letter he was this great preacher in the eighteen hundreds in England and just a fantastic orator. And by the time he was 22, first of was saved. He he had fear death. He was damned, and he felt like that all the time. And he wandered in.

57:41 He knew the gospel. He'd been in church his whole life, but he wandered into a church as a Methodist church. He was not Methodist. He's a purity. He wanders in, and the preacher just kinda boldly proclaimed.

57:52 Call on the name of the Lord and you'll be saved. Anybody who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And he said at once, I accepted it for what it was. So that was when he was around 15 or 16. And then six years later, he's 22 years old.

58:06 He's preaching he's preaching in Surrey Gardens Music Hall, and there were some folks in there that thought it would be funny to yell fire. Fiery ordeal. Right? They thought it would be funny, just pranksters, and they yelled out fire, fire in there. Enough of them spread out far enough that people tried to get out of the Surrey Garden to do the call.

58:31 And seven people were killed, and twenty eight were severely injured. And all those people had, ostensibly, had had come there to hear him. He says, preacher, young guy, 22 years old, and he was preaching on the goodness of Christ, and then seven people were immediately dead, twenty eight severely injured. Injured. And he his wife said, boo.

58:55 His wife said, my beloved's anguish was so deep and so violent that reason seemed to totter in her throne. We sometimes wondered if he would ever preach again. Severe illness, fierce opposition, and bereavement all made their mark on this great preacher's life. So much that today, he would almost certainly be diagnosed as clinically depressed and treated, medicated. But he says, the sympathy of Jesus is the next most precious thing to his sacrifice.

59:34 Again and again, he returned to this thing. Being myself he he preached this. Being myself, more than usually compassed with infirmities, I desire to speak as a weak and suffering preacher of that high priest who is full of compassion. And my longing is that any who are low in spirit, who are low in faint and despondent, and even at the point of total despair, may take heart to approach the Lord Jesus because Jesus is touched not with a feeling of your strength but with your infirmities. Down here, poor, feeble, nothing's affect the heart of their great high priest on high Depend upon him, he says, you will either serve Satan or Christ, either self or savior.

1:00:29 You will find sin, self, and Satan, and the world to be very hard masters. But if you wear the liberty of Christ, you will find him so so lowly apart that you will find rest unto your souls. He is the most magnanimous of captains. There never was his life among the choices of princes. He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle.

1:00:54 When the wind blows cold, he always takes the bleak side of the hill. The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on his shoulders. If he bids us carry a burden, and that's the suffering that we're talking about. Okay? If Jesus bids us carry a burden, he carries it also.

1:01:13 If there's anything that is gracious and generous and kind and tender, yes, lavish and super abundant in love, you always find it I'm gonna let Carl and the band come back forward. We're gonna sing the closing song. The altar is always open, but I'm open it up today. If you would, just call out upon God. If it's because you don't or never have known him or trusted him before, then come and see me, please, right now or at some point this week, next week.

1:01:49 But if you just need to come and pray and say, Lord, I am cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. And then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king's command was urgent, the furnace was so extremely hot, the flame of fire slew those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the midst of the furnace, a blazing fire still tied up, and Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste and he said to his high official, was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire? And they replied to the king, certainly, oh, king.

1:06:52 And he said, look, I see four loose and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, Nebuchadnezzar was talking about gods. But he says, you come out servants of the most high, capital g, God, and come here. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, prefects, governors, and king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had they even the smell of smoke. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, blessed be the God the king's command, yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except small g, except for their own capital g, God.

1:07:54 Therefore, I make the decree that any people, nation, or tongue that speaks anything offensive to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, shoving corn, lend from them. Good luck as always. And their houses reduced to rubbish in as much as there is no other god who who is able to deliver in this way. Then the king called Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon. It matters what you do under trial.

1:08:20 It matters what you do under temptation. I pray that you'd be able to withdoer, withstand, or endure. As James said, blessed is he, blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has sped the test, he will receive the kind of life which God has promised to those who love him. Go and be blessed in Jesus name.

1:08:39 Amen.

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Endurance Judgment Persecution Refining Fire Shame Suffering For Your Faith

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