Sermon 20.8.06
Malvern@6 1 Peter 4:1–19
Our 1 Peter series so far has covered a wide range of topics. I always get surprises when we do series. I plan them out but they always uncover so much more than what I ever intended! Tonight our topic takes on an ominous shape. There is a sting in this one that most of us do not want to hear. And probably as you have concluded from the bible reading, we are talking about suffering.
Before I get to exactly the point I want to make let me just say something about the whole topic of suffering first.
Quite frankly I feel very unqualified to speak to you tonight about the whole topic of suffering. I have lived a charmed life. My life has been good. My parents are together, my upbringing was happy, my family is healthy, my kids are happy. And so I wondered about me speaking to you on this broad topic of suffering.
But I suppose in saying that, like everyone else here tonight, I have seen a fair bit of suffering. I know a missionary family who lost 2 of their 3 little daughters in one evening. I listen many times to the mother of a young man who took his own life. I was in the room when a doctor told another family that their dad did not have long to live, because of a progressive cancer due to the fact of his employment – his trying to put bread on the table for his children. I shared a fair bit of time with a young couple as they lost their much longed for second child.
It does not matter who you are, you just have to open your eyes and see that suffering is all around us.
One of the most disturbing books I have ever read was written by a local Adelaide man curiously titled “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam”. It told the story of a family that had 2 children, the youngest a girl develops a terminal illness. It tells the story of their grief and sadness and then the ultimate death of the young girl. The reason this story so haunts me is that the father decides to leave his wife and son and takes his life at the same time so as to journey with his daughter. Primarily it’s a book about suffering.
This weekend’s Australian magazine has pictures of the twin towers as seen by the only cameraman who was allowed at ground zero. It shows pain and suffering on a huge scale. There is suffering all around us.
There are a couple of ways that people have viewed this whole problem of suffering in relation to God. Minds greater than ours have been thinking about suffering for a long time and wrestling with the issues. I have heard three different approaches to where God is in all the suffering;
There is no God.
Or God is incapable of solving the problem
Or God has set the whole thing in motion and now stands back, like a giant clock maker.
These are big serious questions. I suppose for us Christians though these questions have several answers. Probably the most potent one being the presence of Jesus among us. For far from being the divine clock maker Jesus became one of us and got involved in our world at the earthiest level. He walked our roads, felt our emotions and experienced our pain – but more than that he did something about it.
But there is something else too; and this comes through strongly in 1 Peter, it’s the underlying assumption that this is not all there is. There is more to life than we can see and know, and hear and … feel. This moment of being, is a state that will pass into something else. I was watching a movie the other night (I forget what it was) and in it someone died, as he was dying he said to his close friend “death is just the beginning” that’s our conviction as followers of Jesus that there is more. That pain will not be the ultimate winner, that death has been dominated by life, that there is another side. Something more is coming and will be our reality.
Suffering as a Christian.
This passage before is tonight though narrows down the field of suffering to a very particular area. This passage deals with suffering, sure. But its not asking those huge big questions of suffering that we ask. It’s really dealing with the fact that we suffer because we are following the way of Jesus. I am just going to say that again because otherwise you might be confused with the direction I am going to take... these few verses are really dealing with the fact that we suffer because we are followers of Jesus.
There is no doubt that the history of the Christian church is a history of suffering. Of course there has been great lavish elements in the church, but these are the exception rather than the norm. If you dig underneath the surface you will find a huge amount of little people who have suffered for their faith. Even today the suffering goes on. There are 3 guys who were due to be executed last Sunday in Indonesia. Who I think have not yet been. They are on death row because of a supposed clash between Moslems and Christians. No Moslems were charged and even the fact that witnesses came forward to say that these 3 were not even in the vicinity didn’t get them off. Clearly they are suffering because they are Christians. You could be excused for seeing it as pay back for the 3 sari club bombers. More Christians are suffering now than ever before in the history of the world. Places like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iran are lethal if you are a Christian.
I predict that this will be our experience more and more. Our society is becoming more and more secular. And in the process more and more extreme. It’s becoming more tolerant but strangely in that tolerance it’s becoming less tolerant and more aggressive of those who do not think the same. So being tolerant only extends to those who are like you! – go figure that one! Anybody (that would be us) who claims to have some sort of truth is going to get it in the neck – mark my words.
So the apostle Peter writes to these churches who were suffering. And they too were really suffering. A great host of violence had erupted and most of it was directed at the church. They were terrible times.
So Peter writes to them with some powerful words of encouragement. And I just want to quickly note 4 things and then close with a question for us all.
1.
He says don’t be surprised about it. (look at verse 12)
Don’t let this suffering catch you unaware, in fact it’s the nature of life. I think we need to hear that really deeply. Because to often we think the way of Jesus is all about comfort and pews and singing nice songs that leave us feeling all warm and bubbly inside. I think that’s a construct that we have imposed on Christianity not something that has come from Jesus. Jesus didn’t say all those who want to follow him must take up their picnic rug and follow him for a lazy Sunday afternoon of latté’s and red cordial . He said all those who want to follow him must take up their cross and follow him. The cross is an instrument of death. Jesus’ path led to the cross, so does ours – what’s the surprise in suffering then?
2. There is a purpose to it.
Now this is a point where we really need to be very careful, but it still needs to be said. There is a purpose in suffering. Suffering does do something that nothing else can do. Charles Spurgeon a famous British preacher said: "They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls." I have never heard anyone say, "The deepest and rarest and most satisfying joys of my life have come in times of unlimited ease and secular comfort." Nobody says that. It isn't true. What's true is what Samuel Rutherford said when he was put in the cellars of affliction: "The Great King keeps his wine there"—not in the courtyard where the sun shines.
Now I don’t make any claims to know how this works. All I know is that those who have suffered and come through it are a breed apart. Of course the analogy of gold being refined stands strong in all this. Gold has to be heated to an extreme point for all the impurities to be purged out of it. The hotter it gets the purer it becomes. – I’m sure you get the point.
Suffering does something inside of you.
But there is a warning here to be careful to suffer only for Jesus’ sake and not because you have done something illegal or stupid! I think some of our problems are caused by our own stupid fault.
3. Rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ (see Verse 13)
Now this has got to be a strange thing in this whole deal of suffering. The New Living Translation puts it this way “be very glad – that because these trials will make you partners with Christ”. This makes sense to me when I think about it in a couple of ways;
a) the word rejoice has more of a meaning of something like Spiritual rejoicing. Its not a ha ha happy sort of thing. But an assurance deep inside, or a peace that God is working this for good in your life.
b) this is the path of Jesus. So like the first point why are we surprised when it comes along to us? This is what happened to the master so why not the apprentice? This is actually a way to identify with Jesus and to in some way walk the path of faith.
4. Entrust yourself to your faithful creator. (see verse 19)
Of course this is the bottom line for Peter. This is a theme he keeps coming back to over and over again in this book. Here the word ‘entrust’ or as the NIV says commit has a bit more strength to it. It more like the notion of giving over something to another for safe keeping. I was thinking about it during the week and thought its more like taking those precious resources of yours and put them in the hands of someone who is more capable and stronger than you. We have a short word for that – its called faith. Faith that God who calls you, who helps you live your life will not let you down or let anything happen to you that is beyond your ability to cope.
So let me finish tonight by noting one last thing. Something that has been troubling me all week. I don’t know about you but the thing is I have hardly ever been harassed because of my faith. Sometimes I keep my faith so close to my chest that nobody would know that I am a follower of Jesus. It’s a bit of an irony really. Or maybe it’s a bit of shame that we are so reserved, or so lacking in courage that none of us ever get stirred because we claim allegiance to Jesus. I get stirred far more for supporting Port Power than I have ever been stirred for supporting Jesus.
And even though I know all this stuff about suffering here is something in me that asks why are we not suffering for our faith. What is it about being a Christian in this place that makes it so easy?
I don’t know about you but when I read passages like this it gives me a lot to think about…
Our 1 Peter series so far has covered a wide range of topics. I always get surprises when we do series. I plan them out but they always uncover so much more than what I ever intended! Tonight our topic takes on an ominous shape. There is a sting in this one that most of us do not want to hear. And probably as you have concluded from the bible reading, we are talking about suffering.
Before I get to exactly the point I want to make let me just say something about the whole topic of suffering first.
Quite frankly I feel very unqualified to speak to you tonight about the whole topic of suffering. I have lived a charmed life. My life has been good. My parents are together, my upbringing was happy, my family is healthy, my kids are happy. And so I wondered about me speaking to you on this broad topic of suffering.
But I suppose in saying that, like everyone else here tonight, I have seen a fair bit of suffering. I know a missionary family who lost 2 of their 3 little daughters in one evening. I listen many times to the mother of a young man who took his own life. I was in the room when a doctor told another family that their dad did not have long to live, because of a progressive cancer due to the fact of his employment – his trying to put bread on the table for his children. I shared a fair bit of time with a young couple as they lost their much longed for second child.
It does not matter who you are, you just have to open your eyes and see that suffering is all around us.
One of the most disturbing books I have ever read was written by a local Adelaide man curiously titled “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam”. It told the story of a family that had 2 children, the youngest a girl develops a terminal illness. It tells the story of their grief and sadness and then the ultimate death of the young girl. The reason this story so haunts me is that the father decides to leave his wife and son and takes his life at the same time so as to journey with his daughter. Primarily it’s a book about suffering.
This weekend’s Australian magazine has pictures of the twin towers as seen by the only cameraman who was allowed at ground zero. It shows pain and suffering on a huge scale. There is suffering all around us.
There are a couple of ways that people have viewed this whole problem of suffering in relation to God. Minds greater than ours have been thinking about suffering for a long time and wrestling with the issues. I have heard three different approaches to where God is in all the suffering;
There is no God.
Or God is incapable of solving the problem
Or God has set the whole thing in motion and now stands back, like a giant clock maker.
These are big serious questions. I suppose for us Christians though these questions have several answers. Probably the most potent one being the presence of Jesus among us. For far from being the divine clock maker Jesus became one of us and got involved in our world at the earthiest level. He walked our roads, felt our emotions and experienced our pain – but more than that he did something about it.
But there is something else too; and this comes through strongly in 1 Peter, it’s the underlying assumption that this is not all there is. There is more to life than we can see and know, and hear and … feel. This moment of being, is a state that will pass into something else. I was watching a movie the other night (I forget what it was) and in it someone died, as he was dying he said to his close friend “death is just the beginning” that’s our conviction as followers of Jesus that there is more. That pain will not be the ultimate winner, that death has been dominated by life, that there is another side. Something more is coming and will be our reality.
Suffering as a Christian.
This passage before is tonight though narrows down the field of suffering to a very particular area. This passage deals with suffering, sure. But its not asking those huge big questions of suffering that we ask. It’s really dealing with the fact that we suffer because we are following the way of Jesus. I am just going to say that again because otherwise you might be confused with the direction I am going to take... these few verses are really dealing with the fact that we suffer because we are followers of Jesus.
There is no doubt that the history of the Christian church is a history of suffering. Of course there has been great lavish elements in the church, but these are the exception rather than the norm. If you dig underneath the surface you will find a huge amount of little people who have suffered for their faith. Even today the suffering goes on. There are 3 guys who were due to be executed last Sunday in Indonesia. Who I think have not yet been. They are on death row because of a supposed clash between Moslems and Christians. No Moslems were charged and even the fact that witnesses came forward to say that these 3 were not even in the vicinity didn’t get them off. Clearly they are suffering because they are Christians. You could be excused for seeing it as pay back for the 3 sari club bombers. More Christians are suffering now than ever before in the history of the world. Places like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iran are lethal if you are a Christian.
I predict that this will be our experience more and more. Our society is becoming more and more secular. And in the process more and more extreme. It’s becoming more tolerant but strangely in that tolerance it’s becoming less tolerant and more aggressive of those who do not think the same. So being tolerant only extends to those who are like you! – go figure that one! Anybody (that would be us) who claims to have some sort of truth is going to get it in the neck – mark my words.
So the apostle Peter writes to these churches who were suffering. And they too were really suffering. A great host of violence had erupted and most of it was directed at the church. They were terrible times.
So Peter writes to them with some powerful words of encouragement. And I just want to quickly note 4 things and then close with a question for us all.
1.
He says don’t be surprised about it. (look at verse 12)
Don’t let this suffering catch you unaware, in fact it’s the nature of life. I think we need to hear that really deeply. Because to often we think the way of Jesus is all about comfort and pews and singing nice songs that leave us feeling all warm and bubbly inside. I think that’s a construct that we have imposed on Christianity not something that has come from Jesus. Jesus didn’t say all those who want to follow him must take up their picnic rug and follow him for a lazy Sunday afternoon of latté’s and red cordial . He said all those who want to follow him must take up their cross and follow him. The cross is an instrument of death. Jesus’ path led to the cross, so does ours – what’s the surprise in suffering then?
2. There is a purpose to it.
Now this is a point where we really need to be very careful, but it still needs to be said. There is a purpose in suffering. Suffering does do something that nothing else can do. Charles Spurgeon a famous British preacher said: "They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls." I have never heard anyone say, "The deepest and rarest and most satisfying joys of my life have come in times of unlimited ease and secular comfort." Nobody says that. It isn't true. What's true is what Samuel Rutherford said when he was put in the cellars of affliction: "The Great King keeps his wine there"—not in the courtyard where the sun shines.
Now I don’t make any claims to know how this works. All I know is that those who have suffered and come through it are a breed apart. Of course the analogy of gold being refined stands strong in all this. Gold has to be heated to an extreme point for all the impurities to be purged out of it. The hotter it gets the purer it becomes. – I’m sure you get the point.
Suffering does something inside of you.
But there is a warning here to be careful to suffer only for Jesus’ sake and not because you have done something illegal or stupid! I think some of our problems are caused by our own stupid fault.
3. Rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ (see Verse 13)
Now this has got to be a strange thing in this whole deal of suffering. The New Living Translation puts it this way “be very glad – that because these trials will make you partners with Christ”. This makes sense to me when I think about it in a couple of ways;
a) the word rejoice has more of a meaning of something like Spiritual rejoicing. Its not a ha ha happy sort of thing. But an assurance deep inside, or a peace that God is working this for good in your life.
b) this is the path of Jesus. So like the first point why are we surprised when it comes along to us? This is what happened to the master so why not the apprentice? This is actually a way to identify with Jesus and to in some way walk the path of faith.
4. Entrust yourself to your faithful creator. (see verse 19)
Of course this is the bottom line for Peter. This is a theme he keeps coming back to over and over again in this book. Here the word ‘entrust’ or as the NIV says commit has a bit more strength to it. It more like the notion of giving over something to another for safe keeping. I was thinking about it during the week and thought its more like taking those precious resources of yours and put them in the hands of someone who is more capable and stronger than you. We have a short word for that – its called faith. Faith that God who calls you, who helps you live your life will not let you down or let anything happen to you that is beyond your ability to cope.
So let me finish tonight by noting one last thing. Something that has been troubling me all week. I don’t know about you but the thing is I have hardly ever been harassed because of my faith. Sometimes I keep my faith so close to my chest that nobody would know that I am a follower of Jesus. It’s a bit of an irony really. Or maybe it’s a bit of shame that we are so reserved, or so lacking in courage that none of us ever get stirred because we claim allegiance to Jesus. I get stirred far more for supporting Port Power than I have ever been stirred for supporting Jesus.
And even though I know all this stuff about suffering here is something in me that asks why are we not suffering for our faith. What is it about being a Christian in this place that makes it so easy?
I don’t know about you but when I read passages like this it gives me a lot to think about…
posted by Jonathan at 1:43 PM
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