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Speaker: Matthew 13 verse one.

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You're like, we're in first Peter.

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We'll get there.

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That same day, Jesus went out to the house
or out of the house and sat beside the

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sea and great crowds gathered about him
so that he got into a boat and sat down

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and the whole crowd stood on the beach.

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And he told them many things in
parables saying a sower went out to sow.

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And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the
path and the birds came and devoured them.

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Other seeds fell on rocky ground
where they did not have much soil

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and immediately they sprang up
since they had no depth of soil.

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But when the sun arose,
they were scorched.

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And since they had no
root, they withered away.

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Other seed fell among the thorns and
the thorns grew up and choked them.

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Other seeds fell on the good
soil and produced grain.

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Some a hundred fold, some 60, some 30.

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He who has ears to hear.

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Let him hear.

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This is the parable of the sower.

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In the parable of the sower teaches us
probably the, the core, central truth

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of it is that saving faith, bears fruit,
saving faith lasts, saving faith endures

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and implied within that is maybe not
the main point, but it's there and it's

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something that we're gonna talk about
this morning in first Peter, is that the

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faith is going to encounter opposition.

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In fact, that's what differentiates
all three types of soils.

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Uh, the first soil, which is the,
the rocky ground, not, not the rocky

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ground, but the, the hard path.

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Uh, that's the person who is committed
to atheism or to a false religion, that

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they hear the gospel and they don't want
anything to do with it from the word go.

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And so it's just an outright rejection.

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But then you've got
these two middle soils.

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You've got the rocky ground,
and you've got the thorny soil.

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In both of them, there's a sign of life,
there's an initial hearing of the gospel

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that produces a response that says, okay,
yeah, I think I'm in on following Jesus.

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I wanna follow Jesus.

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And there's life.

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There's signs of life
that springs up there.

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But in the rocky soil that life
doesn't have any depth to it.

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And so when it encounters the scorching
sun, which Jesus goes on to explain

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later on in Matthew 13, are the
trials and the tribulations and the

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suffering that we encounter in this
world, because there's no depth to

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their faith, they end up falling away.

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There's the third soil,
which is in the the thorny.

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Patch, and again, this is soil that
shows life, but this is the soil that

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shows life, that is crowded out by
other things that are there, that

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are robbing it, of its vitality.

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And that's the, the weeds and these
weeds, these thorns begin to choke out

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any of the life that was actually there.

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At least in appearance at the beginning.

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Jesus goes on to say of that soil that
those thorns in the weeds that grow up

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are the worldly pleasures, the worldly
cares, the things that we love in this

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world, that Christ has called us away
from, that there are some that initially

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come to faith in Jesus and are all in
with Christ until it begins to cost

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them the pleasures that they don't want
to give up their idols, if you will.

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And then you've got the fourth soil,
and the fourth soil is good and it's

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rich, and the roots go down deep and
that plant grows up to bear fruit.

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What differentiates the soils
is the response to opposition.

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How they press on, how they persevere.

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How they endure.

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The parable of the soils tells us
the same thing that Peter's gonna

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tell us this morning that is to be
a Christian is to face opposition.

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To put it a a different way,
perhaps a mo more sobering way

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to be a Christian is to suffer.

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To be a Christian is going to mean
suffering either through the trials

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and tribulations that that led the,
the rocky soil to fall away or even to

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suffer through having to give up and
put to death the idols and the earthly

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pleasures in our lives, and to go to
battle against sin and to deny ourselves

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and to practice self-control and the,
the suffering that can come along with

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that, that that was what those in the
thorny soil were not willing to, to do.

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See, to be a Christian is to
suffer because as Peter has

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been telling us throughout the
entire book, we are sojourners

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and we are exiles in this world.

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This world's not our home.

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We're not meant to be at ease and
comfortable here, and because of that,

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we can expect and we should expect that
as we live as believers, it's going to

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prove to be something that is difficult.

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The question we have to ask ourselves
this morning, and each of us has

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to ask ourselves this morning,
is the question, is it worth it?

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Is it worth it?

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Because any sort of pursuit of
Christ is gonna run you into

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the opposition of the world.

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The Bible's clear on that testimony.

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Anybody who wishes to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

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And so we have to ask the
question, is it worth it?

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And I think what Peter's gonna
show us this morning is that, yes,

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suffering is worth it, provided
we suffer as God is calling us to.

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Suffering is worth it for the believer.

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Provided we suffer as God
is calling us to suffer.

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How is God calling us to suffer?

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Let's look at our text first
Peter chapter one or chapter two

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rather, verses 21 through 25.

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I'll read the whole thing and
then we will start in verse 21.

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It says this, for to this you have been
called because Christ also suffered

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for you, leaving you an example
that you might follow in his steps.

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He committed no sin.

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Neither was deceit found in his mouth.

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When he was reviled.

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He did not revile in return
when he suffered, he did not

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threaten but continued entrusting
himself to him who judges justly.

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He himself bore our sins in his body on
the tree that we might die to sin and

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live to righteousness by his wounds.

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You have been healed for you were stray
like sheep, but now have returned to

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the shepherd, an overseer of your soul.

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Verse 21.

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He says, for to this, you have
been called because Christ also

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suffered for, you should beg the
question in our minds, what is this?

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To this?

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You have been called well
to what have I been called?

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Well, if we back right back
into the verse, right proceeding

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this, I think we get the answer.

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Peter said in verse 20, he
said, for what credit is it?

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If when you sin and are beaten for
it, you endure, but if when you do

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good and suffer for it, you endure.

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This is a gracious thing
in the sight of God.

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For to this you have been called, so
you see Peter is, is following and,

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and it's, it's, he's not breaking
thought, he's not meeting weekly to go

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through this letter that he's writing.

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This letter was read all at one time
and so we know that he's coming off this

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argument to say, Hey, you know what, if,
if you suffer while doing good, which

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the reality is as Christians we will,
this is a gracious thing in the sight

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of God for to this you have been called.

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Meaning this is the reality
of our life as believers.

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You have been called,
the word is colletto.

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It means to be summoned by God.

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And, and this should come as no
surprise to us if we've been paying

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attention to what Jesus has been saying,
because we go back to the gospels.

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Even in John chapter 15, if
you were with us back when we

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studied the gospel of John.

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This may remind you of this
John 15 verses 18 through 19.

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Uh, Jesus said this.

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He said, look, if the world
hates you, know that it has

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hated me before it hated you.

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If you were of the world, the world would
love you as its own, but because you're

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not of the world, but I chose you out of
the world, therefore the world hates you.

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So here Jesus is saying, look, you
should expect the opposition from the

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world because you're not of the world.

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In fact, Jesus is saying the thing
that should give you pause and

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the thing that should give you
concern is if the world loves you.

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Because the world should recognize
in you that you are my followers

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and if the world sees that you are
my followers, they're gonna know

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that I chose you out of the world.

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In fact, that's what the
word church means, cia.

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We are the ones called out from the
world and because we've been called out

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from the world, we are gonna stand out
here and that is gonna draw the ire.

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Therefore, Jesus says, the
world hates you for to this.

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You have been called.

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And then he goes on and he says this.

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He says, because Christ
also suffered for you.

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We are those that are following the
example of the one that went before us,

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the one that suffered on our behalf.

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Christianity is the religion of the
called out ones, the church, the cia.

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We are the sojourner.

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We are the exiles.

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And so following Jesus will
make you stand out as different

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and the world is not a fan.

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In this instance of difference.

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Suffering looks different for.

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Believers across different eras, across
cultures, across geographic regions.

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But what remains the same is that
Christians will suffer because that comes

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with the territory of following Jesus.

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And that's really what Peter wants us
to understand here, that comes with

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the territory of following Jesus,
because Christ also suffered for you.

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And then he goes on to say this,
leaving you an example so that

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you might follow in his steps.

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If Christianity is about being like
Jesus, which I think all of us would

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agree that Christianity is really about
being like Jesus being made more like

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Christ, and if Jesus suffered for us, we
should expect that we will suffer as well.

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When we're talking about suffering in this
context, we could be talking about a broad

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range of what this means in Christ's life.

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You could argue, really, that the
entirety of the incarnation was

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a form of suffering for Jesus.

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Think about it.

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He went from the right hand to the father.

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Never having experienced cold or
hunger or thirst, never having

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stubbed his toe, never having had
any amount of of discomfort in his

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entire eternity past existence.

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So you could argue in a sense that the
entirety of the, the incarnation was a,

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a form of suffering for Jesus, but the
suffering that Peter has in mind here,

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and it's gonna be shown even more as he
gets into some allusions to Isaiah 53 in

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a moment, is the suffering of the cross,
the unjust suffering that Christ endured.

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And so this is the, the suffering
that we have been called

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to follow in his footsteps.

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In fact, I, I love this.

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He says, Christ also suffered
for you, leaving you an example.

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The word example is from a Greek
word that was the same word.

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They used to talk about the, the
stencils that would've been used with

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children to teach them their letters.

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And so the children would've been
given this stencil and they would

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trace the stencil to learn how to draw.

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And how to do the letters, and so that's
what Jesus's suffering is for our lives.

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That means that we are meant
to and called to for, to this.

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We've been called, we are called to
trace the suffering of Christ, our

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savior with our lives and how we suffer.

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This is not a, a cheerful message so far.

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Is it?

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This is not one that, that
we're signing up to go.

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Yes, I want to do that, but
I hope to show us why it's,

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it's actually a, a good thing.

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For to this you've been called that
you might suffer as he suffered

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because he left you an example.

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He says that you might
follow in his steps.

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So if we're following Jesus,
that's gonna mean that we're

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following Jesus into suffering.

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Again.

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To be a Christian is to suffer.

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It's inevitable.

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The question is, is it worth it?

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And it's worth it if we, as if we suffer
the way that God has called us to suffer.

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Peter says it's, it's an example there.

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There's.

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Multiple theories of the atonement.

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The atonement is, uh, broadly speaking,
what we use to refer to Christ's death

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on the cross and how it comes to bear
on our relationship with the Father.

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Okay.

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And, and there are multiple
theories of the atonement.

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The one we most often think of, and,
and rightly so, and I would argue it

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is the most important theory of the
atonement that we find in the Bible is

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what's known as penal substitutionary
atonement, penal from the word penalty.

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Okay.

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Christ bore the penalty on the cross.

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He was suffering as a, a punishment.

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Right?

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Whose punishment was he taking?

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Well, it, it's ours.

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That's what we mean by substitutionary.

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That Christ died in
our place on the cross.

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And so he suffered the punishment
that we deserved by being

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our substitute on the cross.

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And then it was the atonement,
meaning it took our relationship

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with God and it reconciled the two.

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It brought us to God.

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Through what?

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Through Him dying in
our place on the cross.

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Penal substitutionary atonement,
second Corinthians 5 21, for he

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made him who knew no sin to be sin.

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Who sin.

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That would be our sin, right?

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That we might become the
righteousness of God.

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So it's the great exchange there and
we often think about that, but there

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are other theories of the atonement.

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Some of them are valid so long
as they don't undermine that.

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Okay.

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Let me give you an example
of one that undermines that.

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The ransom theory of the atonement.

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That's one that we as Christians have
to say, no, we're gonna reject that.

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The ransom theory of the Atonement, at
least in its most bare form, teaches

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that at the cross, God was paying Satan
a ransom to free you from his clutches.

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And the reason we have to reject
that is because nowhere does the

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Bible teaches that Satan owns you.

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Nowhere does the Bible teach us
that, that God owed a debt to Satan.

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When we think about the cross that
way, we're, we're misunderstanding sin

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and its nature and who we've offended.

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And so the, the ransom theory of
atonement is one that we need to set

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aside because it calls into question
again, penal, substitutionary, atonement.

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But what Peter's doing here is he's
giving us another theory that we

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can embrace, and it's called the
example Theory of the Atonement.

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It's incomplete by itself, but it
is something that in addition to

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understanding that Christ took our
place and died for us on the cross and

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paid the penalty our sins deserved.

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It's helpful for us because that's what
Peter's saying here, that part of what

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the, the cross was there to do was to give
us an example of how we should suffer.

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For, and not just the cross, but also all
of the things leading up to the cross.

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How Jesus endured the opposition,
how Jesus endured the mocking, how

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Jesus endured, uh, the, the false
accusations brought against him.

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Uh, Peter saying all of this is an
example that we might trace our lives on.

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The example that Christ has left for us.

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And so Peter holds this up in our passage
and calls us to follow this example, and

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I wanna just encourage us this morning
rather than despising that to say, man,

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I don't want to suffer as a Christian.

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On the one hand, I, I get that that's
just natural to being a human being.

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None of us want to suffer, but
rather than despising it when we do.

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I wanna suggest that perhaps we can
embrace it as a true mark of discipleship

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and come to see it not as something
to be dreaded or, uh, to be escaped,

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but something to to be embraced
as a privilege of following Jesus.

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Point number one this morning, along
those lines is this, suffer as a

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privilege of belonging to Jesus, suffer
as a privilege of belonging to Jesus.

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It's like that badge that tells
you and tells those around

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you that you belong to him.

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Alright.

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That's what Jesus said, if
the, the, the world is gonna

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hate you because it hated me.

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And so if you're facing the hostility
and the hatred from the world, if you're

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suffering for your faith, then you
should find some encouragement in that.

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And there's a privilege there because
it means that you're following

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Jesus, that you belong to him.

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00:14:17,220 --> 00:14:19,080
It's like the people that have the 26.2

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00:14:19,470 --> 00:14:20,880
decals on the back of their cars.

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00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:22,980
I remember seeing that for
the first time and thinking to

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00:14:22,980 --> 00:14:24,240
myself, what in the world is that?

289
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:25,140
What, what club is this?

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00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:26,400
That you have a 26.2?

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00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:27,630
And then I found out it's club.

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I never want to join.

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00:14:30,345 --> 00:14:34,395
If you don't know what it is, it's,
it's those that ran a marathon, 26.2

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00:14:35,385 --> 00:14:37,185
and, and they put that sticker
on the back of their car.

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00:14:37,185 --> 00:14:41,175
Now, if, if somebody who has done
that were to go, or if, or let's just

296
00:14:41,175 --> 00:14:44,355
say if I was to come up to you after
service and say, Hey, um, I know it's

297
00:14:44,355 --> 00:14:46,185
lunchtime, but why don't we go run 26.2

298
00:14:46,185 --> 00:14:46,785
miles real quick?

299
00:14:48,015 --> 00:14:50,475
You're gonna laugh me
out of the room, right?

300
00:14:50,745 --> 00:14:53,715
Most of you would, some of you are,
are unique people and we love you.

301
00:14:55,065 --> 00:14:56,655
But the rest of, you're just
gonna laugh me outta the room.

302
00:14:56,655 --> 00:14:58,455
You're gonna be like, there's
no way I wanna do that.

303
00:14:58,455 --> 00:14:58,785
Right.

304
00:14:59,445 --> 00:15:01,545
But for those that have
done it, that 26.2,

305
00:15:01,545 --> 00:15:03,975
that we look at that and we
think you're crazy for putting

306
00:15:03,975 --> 00:15:06,255
yourself through that to them.

307
00:15:06,255 --> 00:15:08,865
They look at that badge and they say,
man, that's, that's a badge of honor.

308
00:15:09,735 --> 00:15:11,355
I belong to a club that's unique.

309
00:15:11,925 --> 00:15:13,575
I belong to a club that
not many other people do.

310
00:15:13,575 --> 00:15:16,485
And yeah, it was hard and it
was painful and I had to go

311
00:15:16,485 --> 00:15:17,475
through a lot to get there.

312
00:15:18,165 --> 00:15:19,215
But was it worth it in the end?

313
00:15:19,215 --> 00:15:20,205
Yeah, it was worth it in the end.

314
00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,850
Christians, our suffering for Jesus
is that badge for us that says

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00:15:26,850 --> 00:15:29,400
we belong to Christ, we're his.

316
00:15:30,165 --> 00:15:34,680
And, and, and that's something that, that
we can have a, a, an appropriate, a godly

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00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,380
sense of pride in, of saying, I'm his.

318
00:15:38,310 --> 00:15:40,980
And so it marks us out as it,
it calls us out as different.

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00:15:40,980 --> 00:15:44,910
And it, and it's different in the sense
that we belong to him, that we are part

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00:15:44,910 --> 00:15:46,830
of the called out ones part of the church.

321
00:15:47,805 --> 00:15:49,785
And that when we suffer, we can
think of that as a privilege.

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00:15:49,785 --> 00:15:53,085
In fact, Paul in Philippians 1
29, he calls it a gift of God.

323
00:15:53,085 --> 00:15:55,215
He says, for it has been granted to you.

324
00:15:55,215 --> 00:15:58,965
That word granted is, it's the word that
means it's a grace gift of God to you.

325
00:15:59,835 --> 00:16:02,475
It's a grace gift of God to
you for the sake of Christ

326
00:16:02,475 --> 00:16:03,675
that you should believe in Him.

327
00:16:03,705 --> 00:16:03,945
Okay?

328
00:16:03,945 --> 00:16:05,055
We can get there, right?

329
00:16:05,595 --> 00:16:06,675
Faith is a gift of God.

330
00:16:06,675 --> 00:16:07,185
Amen.

331
00:16:07,185 --> 00:16:08,235
Praise God for that.

332
00:16:08,415 --> 00:16:11,625
But then he goes on and says this, but
also that you should suffer for his sake.

333
00:16:12,750 --> 00:16:16,230
So God is giving you not only the gift
of faith, but he's also giving you the,

334
00:16:16,230 --> 00:16:18,570
the, the gift of suffering for Jesus.

335
00:16:19,530 --> 00:16:22,440
Man, before we get to, to why that's
a gift, and we will in just a second

336
00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,200
here, it's probably helpful at this
point in time to stop down to talk

337
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,270
about what suffering looks like for us.

338
00:16:28,590 --> 00:16:30,510
If you've been paying attention to
world events right now, you know

339
00:16:30,510 --> 00:16:33,510
that, that for Nigerian Christians
suffering looks far different than it

340
00:16:33,510 --> 00:16:34,800
looks like for you and I this morning.

341
00:16:35,970 --> 00:16:38,370
I mean, we're not, I don't
think, concerned that somebody's

342
00:16:38,370 --> 00:16:40,320
gonna come in here with guns
blazing and take us all out.

343
00:16:41,430 --> 00:16:44,940
We can't be a hundred percent
certain of that, but we're not

344
00:16:44,940 --> 00:16:47,820
waking up nervous about that this
morning, the way that they might be.

345
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,070
Or you think about the
suffering of Christians in

346
00:16:50,070 --> 00:16:51,480
China and what they're enduring.

347
00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:54,900
And here's the thing I wanna suggest
this morning, and, and this is something

348
00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:56,250
I had to be reminded of this week too.

349
00:16:56,670 --> 00:16:59,880
We have to be careful not to judge
the quality of suffering based

350
00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:00,959
on the quantity of suffering.

351
00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:05,579
In other words, when Peter says
to this, you have been called.

352
00:17:06,689 --> 00:17:10,169
God understood that, that that was
going to be read and experienced in

353
00:17:10,169 --> 00:17:13,289
different cultures, in different times,
in different seasons, in different ways.

354
00:17:14,550 --> 00:17:17,489
And so I, I understand that we would
look at the suffering that's going on in

355
00:17:17,489 --> 00:17:21,598
other parts of the world and think, wow,
that is suffering to a totally different

356
00:17:21,598 --> 00:17:23,429
level than I've ever experienced before.

357
00:17:23,699 --> 00:17:26,759
But I just want to tell you that doesn't
negate the significance of the suffering

358
00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:28,348
that you are going through for your faith.

359
00:17:29,669 --> 00:17:30,689
Different Yes.

360
00:17:31,709 --> 00:17:33,570
Less, not necessarily.

361
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,120
God's after the same thing.

362
00:17:36,959 --> 00:17:37,919
He's after the same thing.

363
00:17:37,919 --> 00:17:39,539
And we're gonna see what
that is in a little bit here.

364
00:17:39,539 --> 00:17:41,249
But what might suffering look like?

365
00:17:41,249 --> 00:17:43,379
Well, maybe it is that you're
getting mocked for sharing

366
00:17:43,379 --> 00:17:45,449
your faith by your coworkers.

367
00:17:45,509 --> 00:17:48,929
Or you're getting family members
that have gotten angry with you and

368
00:17:48,929 --> 00:17:52,350
stormed out of a conversation with
you or cut off relationships with

369
00:17:52,350 --> 00:17:56,189
you because of your faith in Christ
that's suffering for your, your faith.

370
00:17:56,879 --> 00:18:00,090
Or maybe you're a wife who's in
a difficult marriage where you're

371
00:18:00,090 --> 00:18:03,239
submitting to your husband, but your
husband is not leading you well.

372
00:18:04,380 --> 00:18:07,650
And so you are suffering because
you're not being led the way that you,

373
00:18:07,650 --> 00:18:09,270
you would wish that he would lead.

374
00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:11,910
You're not being led spiritually,
you're not being led in a way

375
00:18:11,910 --> 00:18:14,940
that is, is, uh, God honoring way.

376
00:18:14,940 --> 00:18:17,220
And so you're submitting to him
because that's what God has called

377
00:18:17,220 --> 00:18:20,430
you to do, but you're suffering in
the midst of that because you are

378
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,030
lacking what you really wish would
be there that's suffering for your,

379
00:18:24,030 --> 00:18:26,520
your faith, or maybe you're a husband.

380
00:18:27,330 --> 00:18:30,060
In a marriage where you're trying
to lead spiritually, you're trying

381
00:18:30,060 --> 00:18:31,590
to lead as God would have you lead.

382
00:18:31,590 --> 00:18:33,000
But you've got a wife who's cynical.

383
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,159
You've got a wife who's who's unforgiving.

384
00:18:35,159 --> 00:18:36,179
You've got a wife who's bitter.

385
00:18:36,179 --> 00:18:39,990
You've got a wife who doesn't want
to do that, and yet you're trying to

386
00:18:39,990 --> 00:18:43,350
do what God has called you to do, and
so you're suffering for your faith as

387
00:18:43,350 --> 00:18:44,939
you're trying to lead in that context.

388
00:18:46,304 --> 00:18:49,695
Or maybe you're an employee who has missed
out on the progression of your career

389
00:18:49,695 --> 00:18:54,284
because the, the room where that happens,
if I can put it that way, is the bar that

390
00:18:54,284 --> 00:18:57,344
all of your coworkers go to with their
boss after work, and they all end up

391
00:18:57,344 --> 00:18:59,024
going up and, and having too many drinks.

392
00:18:59,024 --> 00:19:01,935
And you just don't wanna put yourself
in that circumstance because of

393
00:19:01,935 --> 00:19:03,225
your convictions as a believer.

394
00:19:03,225 --> 00:19:06,614
So you're missing out on situations where
you could have been, be endearing yourself

395
00:19:06,614 --> 00:19:10,784
to them and to your supervisors, and,
and as a result, you're not advancing

396
00:19:10,814 --> 00:19:12,225
as fast as you might otherwise be.

397
00:19:12,225 --> 00:19:14,294
You, you're suffering for
your faith because you're.

398
00:19:14,965 --> 00:19:17,574
Making decisions based on that,
that are sacrificing things.

399
00:19:18,624 --> 00:19:22,314
Or maybe you're the parent of
the unbelieving child and you've

400
00:19:22,314 --> 00:19:23,634
been praying for that child.

401
00:19:23,634 --> 00:19:27,054
You've been weeping, you've been wrestling
with the Lord over the faith of that child

402
00:19:27,054 --> 00:19:32,124
for years, and you are suffering in a way
that an believer is not suffering over

403
00:19:32,124 --> 00:19:35,754
their kids because they're not concerned
about their spiritual state where you are.

404
00:19:36,834 --> 00:19:40,914
And so you're suffering for your
faith as you labor for your child.

405
00:19:41,970 --> 00:19:43,560
Maybe you're the single
person who desires.

406
00:19:43,565 --> 00:19:45,390
I, I, I just want to be in a relationship.

407
00:19:45,390 --> 00:19:47,129
I want to be married.

408
00:19:47,129 --> 00:19:50,010
And yet your faith says that you
have a standard that you will not

409
00:19:50,010 --> 00:19:51,750
compromise on for what that looks like.

410
00:19:52,590 --> 00:19:55,500
And so that means that maybe you've
passed up opportunities for relationships

411
00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:58,110
because you know that that would
not be a God honoring relationship.

412
00:19:58,740 --> 00:20:01,320
And in your singleness, you're
learning to be content though what

413
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,200
you would really rather have is
somebody that would be your help.

414
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,180
Meet somebody that would be
your spouse, somebody that

415
00:20:06,180 --> 00:20:08,340
would be that companion for you.

416
00:20:08,340 --> 00:20:09,645
You're suffering for your faith there.

417
00:20:11,385 --> 00:20:14,054
Maybe it's missing out on worldly
pleasures because of your faith.

418
00:20:15,165 --> 00:20:17,925
Maybe it's you're walking through a
trial and you're committed to who God

419
00:20:17,925 --> 00:20:22,544
is, and yet even though you know who he
is, there's things, there's questions,

420
00:20:22,544 --> 00:20:27,044
there's unresolved tensions in your life
as you're looking at your circumstances

421
00:20:27,044 --> 00:20:30,584
saying, this doesn't measure up to who I
know God to be, and I don't understand.

422
00:20:30,584 --> 00:20:33,824
That would be another example
of suffering for your faith.

423
00:20:35,324 --> 00:20:37,365
And so to be a Christian is to suffer.

424
00:20:38,025 --> 00:20:40,875
It doesn't mean that you're gonna suffer
the same way that Christians suffer in

425
00:20:40,875 --> 00:20:45,525
every part of the world or at all times
as you look back across world history.

426
00:20:46,485 --> 00:20:50,415
But just because your suffering is
different doesn't make it less or

427
00:20:50,415 --> 00:20:53,445
doesn't mean that God is not after
the same thing through the suffering

428
00:20:53,445 --> 00:20:58,125
in your life, but that suffering
wherever you fall on that spectrum.

429
00:20:58,919 --> 00:21:00,239
And that suffering is a privilege.

430
00:21:00,539 --> 00:21:01,889
It's a grace gift of God.

431
00:21:02,459 --> 00:21:04,169
Why is it a grace gift of God?

432
00:21:04,350 --> 00:21:05,820
I wanna suggest at least four reasons why.

433
00:21:06,179 --> 00:21:08,009
First, it affirms your position in Christ.

434
00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:14,249
When you suffer for your faith and you
hold fast, you're not the rocky soil.

435
00:21:14,249 --> 00:21:17,759
You're not the thorny soil, and
that affirms your position in

436
00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:20,159
Christ that you belong to him.

437
00:21:20,580 --> 00:21:23,789
And that's why you're suffering
right now is because you belong

438
00:21:23,789 --> 00:21:25,050
to him, because you're his second.

439
00:21:25,110 --> 00:21:27,539
It increases your reliance upon Christ.

440
00:21:28,740 --> 00:21:31,650
When we suffer, when we go through the
valley of the shadow of death, man, we

441
00:21:31,650 --> 00:21:34,680
are drawn closer to the Lord as believers.

442
00:21:35,220 --> 00:21:39,120
We recognize how keenly we need
him and we need the spirit of God.

443
00:21:39,930 --> 00:21:42,570
It's those seasons whereas Peter
opened up the epistle by saying,

444
00:21:42,570 --> 00:21:45,600
you are being guarded by God's power
through faith for salvation ready

445
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:46,650
to be revealed in the last time.

446
00:21:46,950 --> 00:21:50,790
Man, it's the seasons of suffering in
your life that you experience that more

447
00:21:50,790 --> 00:21:54,480
often than any other time where you think,
man, ire, I know God's holding onto me

448
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:55,830
right now more than I'm holding onto him.

449
00:21:56,910 --> 00:21:57,690
Thank God for that.

450
00:21:58,814 --> 00:22:00,465
It increases your reliance upon Christ.

451
00:22:00,465 --> 00:22:03,435
Third, it stirs your affections
for your future with Christ.

452
00:22:05,115 --> 00:22:07,544
When, when we go through difficult
times in this world, it makes

453
00:22:07,544 --> 00:22:08,625
us more hungry for the next one.

454
00:22:10,245 --> 00:22:13,425
And when, when we realize that this
world is, is not all it's cracked

455
00:22:13,425 --> 00:22:16,695
up to be, how much more are we ready
to go and be in the next world, the

456
00:22:16,695 --> 00:22:19,695
world that that will be satisfying to
us, the world where Christ is gonna

457
00:22:19,965 --> 00:22:21,585
wipe away every tear from our eyes.

458
00:22:22,514 --> 00:22:24,810
And so suffering is a privilege
because it makes us long for home.

459
00:22:26,009 --> 00:22:27,629
Again, as those Sojourner and aliens.

460
00:22:27,629 --> 00:22:31,709
And then finally, it pleases the father
as you submit to him like Christ.

461
00:22:32,939 --> 00:22:35,669
That's another reason why it's a privilege
is this is another way for you to

462
00:22:35,669 --> 00:22:38,235
please the Father as you submit to him.

463
00:22:39,074 --> 00:22:40,215
Like Christ.

464
00:22:41,175 --> 00:22:43,064
And this really leads us into
this next section because

465
00:22:43,064 --> 00:22:44,264
what did, did it look like?

466
00:22:44,354 --> 00:22:44,625
What?

467
00:22:44,655 --> 00:22:46,125
How did Jesus suffer?

468
00:22:46,395 --> 00:22:49,245
How should we submit to him like Christ?

469
00:22:49,245 --> 00:22:50,024
Look at verse 22.

470
00:22:50,715 --> 00:22:51,375
Look at verse 22.

471
00:22:51,375 --> 00:22:53,054
He says this, he committed no sin.

472
00:22:53,114 --> 00:22:55,215
Neither was deceit found in his mouth.

473
00:22:55,215 --> 00:22:56,264
When he was reviled.

474
00:22:56,264 --> 00:22:58,604
He did not revile in
return when he suffered.

475
00:22:58,604 --> 00:23:01,125
He did not threaten but continued
entrusting himself to him.

476
00:23:01,125 --> 00:23:02,205
Who judges justly.

477
00:23:03,239 --> 00:23:07,199
Here we find, uh, Peter wading
into Isaiah 53 through direct

478
00:23:07,199 --> 00:23:08,524
quotes and some illusions as well.

479
00:23:09,239 --> 00:23:12,719
And again, Isaiah 53 was a passage
written about 700 years before the

480
00:23:12,719 --> 00:23:17,100
cross that predicted prophetically,
the sufferings that Jesus would endure

481
00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:19,350
through the cross for you and for me.

482
00:23:19,469 --> 00:23:24,030
And Peter's pointing back to Isaiah
53 to remind us of how Isaiah said

483
00:23:24,030 --> 00:23:25,409
that the Messiah would suffer.

484
00:23:25,530 --> 00:23:29,429
And Peter now looking back at the cross,
is saying, yes, indeed, this is how he did

485
00:23:29,699 --> 00:23:32,159
suffer and this is how we should suffer.

486
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:33,749
And he begins by saying this.

487
00:23:33,749 --> 00:23:34,919
He committed no sin.

488
00:23:34,949 --> 00:23:36,540
Neither was deceit found in his mouth.

489
00:23:37,814 --> 00:23:38,624
This is an illusion.

490
00:23:38,624 --> 00:23:42,524
It seems to Isaiah 53 9, which says,
although he had done no violence and

491
00:23:42,524 --> 00:23:46,514
there was no deceit in his mouth, the
word for violence there, which by the

492
00:23:46,514 --> 00:23:51,044
way is the word Hamas, if you think about
that for just a second in the the current

493
00:23:51,044 --> 00:23:56,534
world geopolitical scene, but the word
violence or Hamas means wrongdoing or.

494
00:23:57,450 --> 00:23:58,409
Violence.

495
00:23:58,710 --> 00:24:01,350
And Isaiah was saying the, the
suffering servant, the, the

496
00:24:01,350 --> 00:24:03,300
Messiah was not gonna lash out.

497
00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:05,970
He was not gonna return, he was
not gonna sin, but also he was not

498
00:24:05,970 --> 00:24:07,560
going to commit any sort of deceit.

499
00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:11,909
Jesus, our Messiah, suffered under
immense physical, emotional, and

500
00:24:11,909 --> 00:24:14,280
spiritual turmoil, and yet not one time.

501
00:24:15,014 --> 00:24:17,534
Not one time in all of
that, did he compromise?

502
00:24:17,534 --> 00:24:22,455
Not one time did he ever use deceit or
to lie in order to avoid the consequences

503
00:24:22,455 --> 00:24:24,014
that he knew the truth was going to bring.

504
00:24:24,645 --> 00:24:28,125
He suffered sinlessly and that's
what we're being called to as well.

505
00:24:29,475 --> 00:24:33,705
But not only did he suffer that way, he,
Peter goes on when he was reviled, he did

506
00:24:33,705 --> 00:24:39,615
not revile in return and when he suffered,
he did not threaten the word revile.

507
00:24:39,615 --> 00:24:40,544
There means abuse.

508
00:24:41,399 --> 00:24:45,179
Reproach to suffer, reproach, to
be insulted or to be slandered

509
00:24:46,950 --> 00:24:49,530
or to threaten in return.

510
00:24:49,830 --> 00:24:53,460
In Acts four 17, that word threaten
is used there when the religious

511
00:24:53,460 --> 00:24:57,720
leaders with the, the apostles threaten
them or warn them not to continue

512
00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,340
preaching in the name of Jesus.

513
00:25:00,210 --> 00:25:03,780
And so you think about our savior in
his suffering, he could have threatened

514
00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:07,139
those, mistreating him to say, uh,
just wait until the judgment seat,

515
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,689
just wait until the day of the Lord.

516
00:25:10,485 --> 00:25:11,624
And yet that's not what he did.

517
00:25:12,254 --> 00:25:14,264
Isaiah 53, 7 runs behind this one.

518
00:25:14,415 --> 00:25:18,344
He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth.

519
00:25:19,935 --> 00:25:22,784
There were many times during Jesus'
earthly ministry where he suffered.

520
00:25:22,874 --> 00:25:24,945
As I mentioned earlier, many
times he was disrespected.

521
00:25:24,945 --> 00:25:25,874
Many times he was mocked.

522
00:25:25,874 --> 00:25:29,205
Many times he was challenged, but it all
came to its climax at the crucifixion,

523
00:25:30,179 --> 00:25:35,384
his betrayal, his arrest, the beating,
the suffering, the mockery, even leading

524
00:25:35,384 --> 00:25:37,995
up to and through dying on the cross.

525
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:44,220
In fact, in Luke chapter 22 verses
63 through 65, we get a, a sense

526
00:25:44,220 --> 00:25:45,930
of, of some of that suffering there.

527
00:25:46,530 --> 00:25:50,190
It says, and the people stood by
watching, but the rulers scoffed at him.

528
00:25:51,810 --> 00:25:52,889
Saying he saved others.

529
00:25:52,889 --> 00:25:53,909
Let him save himself.

530
00:25:54,209 --> 00:25:57,749
If he is the Christ of God, that
his chosen one, the soldiers also

531
00:25:57,749 --> 00:26:00,780
mocked him coming up and offering
him sour wine and saying, if you are

532
00:26:00,780 --> 00:26:02,939
the king of the Jews, save yourself.

533
00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:06,449
There was also an inscription
king of the Jews over him.

534
00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:09,209
One of the criminals who were
hanged, railed at him saying,

535
00:26:09,209 --> 00:26:10,469
are you not the Christ?

536
00:26:10,709 --> 00:26:13,229
Save yourself and us.

537
00:26:14,459 --> 00:26:15,239
And you think about that.

538
00:26:15,239 --> 00:26:15,810
You think about.

539
00:26:16,364 --> 00:26:20,624
The, the courtyard of CA's house when he
was being beaten and the crown of thorns

540
00:26:20,624 --> 00:26:26,024
was being shoved down on his head, and,
and not once did he return any of that.

541
00:26:26,024 --> 00:26:27,794
Not once did he revile and return.

542
00:26:27,794 --> 00:26:33,044
Not once did he threaten what was
he doing, because he could have, I

543
00:26:33,044 --> 00:26:37,814
mean, he, he, he had every reason in
a resource at his disposal, he could

544
00:26:37,814 --> 00:26:40,274
have called down the angels that he
was being challenged to call down.

545
00:26:40,995 --> 00:26:41,595
But he didn't.

546
00:26:41,685 --> 00:26:42,585
Instead, what did he do?

547
00:26:42,585 --> 00:26:45,675
It says he continued entrusting
himself to him who judges justly.

548
00:26:46,395 --> 00:26:50,145
He continued, it's in a, a tense
in the Greek, which suggests a,

549
00:26:50,145 --> 00:26:55,455
an ongoing repeated action, which
is why this is again, the example

550
00:26:55,455 --> 00:26:57,555
that, that Christ is leaving for us.

551
00:26:58,335 --> 00:27:00,615
There's gonna be times that you
are suffering that it's gonna be

552
00:27:00,615 --> 00:27:03,375
a minute by minute, having to go
back to remembering that God is

553
00:27:03,375 --> 00:27:04,725
sovereign and you can trust him.

554
00:27:05,775 --> 00:27:08,355
There's gonna be times in turmoil
and suffering where it's not a once.

555
00:27:08,804 --> 00:27:11,415
Moment, once in time moment where
you go, well, I entrusted myself to

556
00:27:11,415 --> 00:27:12,915
Jesus at conversion, so I'm good.

557
00:27:13,965 --> 00:27:14,145
Now.

558
00:27:14,149 --> 00:27:17,294
The, the, the pain that we go through,
much like the pain that our savior went

559
00:27:17,294 --> 00:27:20,804
through, looks like continually entrusting
ourselves to the one who judges justly.

560
00:27:20,804 --> 00:27:23,865
In fact, in our daily Bible reading,
we're coming up to it, but Jesus in

561
00:27:23,865 --> 00:27:26,145
the Garden of Gethsemane, I think
this is a perfect example of this.

562
00:27:27,705 --> 00:27:28,514
Three times.

563
00:27:28,514 --> 00:27:29,385
Have you ever thought about that?

564
00:27:29,864 --> 00:27:30,675
Three times.

565
00:27:30,675 --> 00:27:33,975
The son of God in the garden, under
the weight of the anxiety and the

566
00:27:33,975 --> 00:27:37,304
turmoil that was facing him at the cross
three times, he implored the father,

567
00:27:37,304 --> 00:27:40,395
saying, father, if there's any other
way, please let this cut past from me.

568
00:27:41,445 --> 00:27:44,624
And yet for Jesus to entrust himself
to the one who judges justly, was to

569
00:27:44,624 --> 00:27:48,014
say every single time, yet, not what
I will, but what you will be done.

570
00:27:49,455 --> 00:27:51,614
And so our savior left us this example.

571
00:27:52,590 --> 00:27:54,209
Continued entrusting himself.

572
00:27:54,209 --> 00:27:58,080
It's from the, the word in Greek that
means to, to hand over, to give over.

573
00:27:59,159 --> 00:28:01,500
In fact, it's the same word
that's used for betraying.

574
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,610
So there's an interesting word play
there in that the one who was betrayed

575
00:28:05,610 --> 00:28:09,570
kept handing himself over the one
that was handed over to the Jews, kept

576
00:28:09,570 --> 00:28:11,909
handing himself over to the father.

577
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:19,709
Whatever the world has handed you over to
suffering, be it at work or at home, are

578
00:28:19,709 --> 00:28:21,485
you handing yourself over to your father?

579
00:28:22,485 --> 00:28:27,495
The one who will judge justly,
though Jesus suffered greatly, God's

580
00:28:27,495 --> 00:28:30,105
assessment of him had not changed
through all of his suffering.

581
00:28:30,105 --> 00:28:33,615
He would've still said, well
done, good and faithful servants.

582
00:28:33,645 --> 00:28:35,925
This is my beloved son,
with whom I'm well pleased.

583
00:28:37,409 --> 00:28:40,320
And this is the example for us to
follow as we think about walking

584
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:41,429
in the footsteps of our savior.

585
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,610
So we think about tracing our
lives over the, the stencil

586
00:28:44,730 --> 00:28:46,290
of the suffering of Jesus.

587
00:28:46,379 --> 00:28:49,320
When we look to Jesus, we see a,
a savior who suffered patiently

588
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:50,520
while trusting his father.

589
00:28:50,940 --> 00:28:52,290
And that's our second point this morning.

590
00:28:52,290 --> 00:28:54,389
As you think about what it looks
like for us to suffer in the way

591
00:28:54,389 --> 00:28:57,060
that God is calling us to suffer,
it's this way, suffer patiently

592
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,649
while trusting like Jesus suffer
patiently while trusting like Jesus.

593
00:29:03,284 --> 00:29:07,304
There's something I think innate
in all of us that when we suffer,

594
00:29:07,304 --> 00:29:08,625
we want our pound of flesh.

595
00:29:09,284 --> 00:29:11,415
We want the person making
us suffer to suffer.

596
00:29:12,105 --> 00:29:15,344
We want the suffering to stop, but
then we also want justice to be done.

597
00:29:16,514 --> 00:29:19,034
And so the example Peter's, uh,
calling us to follow the example

598
00:29:19,034 --> 00:29:22,425
we see in Christ that he didn't
revile, that he didn't threaten.

599
00:29:22,814 --> 00:29:24,975
It's not it, it doesn't make us feel good.

600
00:29:27,090 --> 00:29:27,810
Think about the road.

601
00:29:27,810 --> 00:29:30,659
I, I, I know I, I go to the road
often, but it's such a good place

602
00:29:30,659 --> 00:29:34,439
to find examples of where we can be
less sinful, at least in, in my life.

603
00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:39,719
When, when you're cut off on the road,
what, what do you think to yourself?

604
00:29:40,769 --> 00:29:43,754
Do you think, oh, well maybe his wife
is in labor and he has somewhere to get

605
00:29:43,754 --> 00:29:46,409
and it's really important and I just
need to extend him grace in that moment?

606
00:29:47,519 --> 00:29:50,129
I try to think that sometimes, and
there's a lot of people giving birth

607
00:29:50,129 --> 00:29:51,389
apparently out on the road these days.

608
00:29:53,145 --> 00:29:56,385
But, but when, when you're cut off
on the road, you think to yourself,

609
00:29:57,405 --> 00:29:58,814
can I get around him and cut him off?

610
00:29:59,864 --> 00:30:02,534
Or when you got somebody
tailgating you, right?

611
00:30:02,895 --> 00:30:03,584
What do you do?

612
00:30:03,824 --> 00:30:06,405
Do you think, oh man, I should get
over, they've got somebody somewhere

613
00:30:06,405 --> 00:30:08,834
really urgent to get to, let me
get over and let them pass by.

614
00:30:09,104 --> 00:30:11,895
Or do you look down and go, I
could slow down five miles an

615
00:30:11,895 --> 00:30:13,034
hour on the road right now.

616
00:30:15,104 --> 00:30:16,334
Maybe you're holier than I am.

617
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:18,000
Hopefully you are.

618
00:30:18,660 --> 00:30:21,450
I read an article this week that
Dallas is the 14th worst city

619
00:30:21,450 --> 00:30:22,470
in the nation for road rage.

620
00:30:22,470 --> 00:30:22,920
By the way,

621
00:30:25,740 --> 00:30:30,210
it doesn't feel good to suffer the
way that Peter's calling us to suffer.

622
00:30:31,770 --> 00:30:34,590
In fact, we even teach our kids to stand
up to their bullies at school, right?

623
00:30:34,590 --> 00:30:36,750
So why shouldn't we stand up
to the bullies in our lives?

624
00:30:37,950 --> 00:30:41,370
I wanna suggest something just
as a point of clarification.

625
00:30:42,929 --> 00:30:46,050
W Peter's not calling us to roll
over and be a doormat to the world.

626
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:46,350
Okay?

627
00:30:47,399 --> 00:30:50,669
Peter's not calling us to suffer
silently when something needs to be done.

628
00:30:50,699 --> 00:30:54,419
In other words, lemme
just give an example.

629
00:30:54,419 --> 00:30:58,110
If, if you are in a relationship, let's
say that you are in a, a, a marriage

630
00:30:58,110 --> 00:31:02,429
where there's a physical abuse taking
place, sometimes it's appropriate to

631
00:31:02,429 --> 00:31:05,310
call the police and get the authorities
involved in a situation like that.

632
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:07,110
And that's not wrong.

633
00:31:07,110 --> 00:31:09,600
That's not disobeying what
you've been called to here.

634
00:31:11,129 --> 00:31:14,249
Or let's say you're in a situation at
work and, and you've been suffering

635
00:31:14,249 --> 00:31:17,729
silently as you've just been continually
neglected and passed over for promotions.

636
00:31:17,729 --> 00:31:20,310
Whether it's because the boss knows
that you're a Christian, despises your

637
00:31:20,310 --> 00:31:23,159
faith, or because you're just missing
out on opportunities and you're sitting

638
00:31:23,159 --> 00:31:26,909
there going, okay, do I stay here
even though man expenses are mounting?

639
00:31:26,909 --> 00:31:29,100
I've got kids that I need to
send to college and, and I just,

640
00:31:29,370 --> 00:31:31,769
I don't think I'm stewarding my
family well by staying in this job.

641
00:31:31,919 --> 00:31:33,239
Sometimes you need to change.

642
00:31:33,239 --> 00:31:35,459
You need to get out of that
job and go find another job.

643
00:31:36,780 --> 00:31:39,540
Or if you're in a marriage with
a professing believer and that

644
00:31:39,540 --> 00:31:43,800
professing believer is sinning
openly in front of you, that sin

645
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,350
needs to be confronted to suffer.

646
00:31:46,350 --> 00:31:49,260
The way that Jesus suffered
is not ignoring sin.

647
00:31:50,010 --> 00:31:52,950
So all that's to say you're
not called to suffer silently.

648
00:31:52,950 --> 00:31:56,700
You're called to suffer sinlessly,
and that's the point here.

649
00:31:57,180 --> 00:32:01,980
How we respond needs to be in
keeping with our christlikeness.

650
00:32:03,195 --> 00:32:07,004
If our response to suffering hinders
your walk with Christ, if your response

651
00:32:07,004 --> 00:32:11,385
to suffering leads you into sin and
how you're going to respond, which in

652
00:32:11,385 --> 00:32:17,115
Peter's instance here would be to revile
when you've been reviled or to threaten

653
00:32:17,115 --> 00:32:22,395
someone, then we're not suffering the
way that God's calling us to suffer.

654
00:32:23,085 --> 00:32:26,955
Again, it's not about suffering
silently necessarily, but sinlessly.

655
00:32:27,555 --> 00:32:29,745
So what does that look like
and, and how can I get there?

656
00:32:30,075 --> 00:32:31,784
I wanna suggest two things
that help us get there.

657
00:32:32,490 --> 00:32:34,409
How we suffer patiently
while trusting like Jesus.

658
00:32:34,710 --> 00:32:36,300
Uh, two truths that help you do that.

659
00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:38,639
First, God knows what
you're going through.

660
00:32:40,110 --> 00:32:41,189
God knows what you're going through.

661
00:32:41,879 --> 00:32:45,570
The Father knew every step of Jesus'
life exactly what he was enduring.

662
00:32:46,590 --> 00:32:49,649
The Father knew as Jesus was in
the garden of Gethsemane, praying

663
00:32:49,649 --> 00:32:50,699
that the cup would pass from him.

664
00:32:50,909 --> 00:32:52,590
That father knew what that cup contained.

665
00:32:54,780 --> 00:32:56,220
In fact, he knows us so well.

666
00:32:56,220 --> 00:32:59,010
This is how David describes his
knowledge of us in Psalm 1 39.

667
00:32:59,669 --> 00:33:01,560
Oh Lord, you have
searched me and known me.

668
00:33:01,770 --> 00:33:05,399
You know when I sit down and when I rise
up and you discern my thoughts from afar,

669
00:33:05,669 --> 00:33:09,570
you search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways,

670
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:13,860
even before a word is on my tongue, the
hold, oh Lord, you know it all together.

671
00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:16,889
And here's this, the language of the
loving father, the knowledge of our

672
00:33:16,889 --> 00:33:18,629
Father as he leads us and guides us.

673
00:33:18,870 --> 00:33:23,220
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.

674
00:33:24,179 --> 00:33:26,159
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

675
00:33:26,159 --> 00:33:28,710
It is high and I cannot
contain, attain it.

676
00:33:29,999 --> 00:33:32,429
Or think of the, the Psalm 23.

677
00:33:34,019 --> 00:33:36,360
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear

678
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:41,039
no evil for you are leading me, right?

679
00:33:41,639 --> 00:33:44,820
So the father knows what you're
going through, and so you can trust

680
00:33:44,820 --> 00:33:48,884
him patiently trusting that he's
going to bring justice because he

681
00:33:49,169 --> 00:33:50,044
knows what you're going through.

682
00:33:51,015 --> 00:33:53,745
He's heard every harsh word
that's been uttered towards you.

683
00:33:53,745 --> 00:33:57,525
He's aware of and familiar with the
discouragement that you felt when met

684
00:33:57,525 --> 00:34:01,845
with SEP skepticism or cynicism from
a spouse that doesn't want you to lead

685
00:34:01,845 --> 00:34:03,104
the way that God's calling you to lead.

686
00:34:03,495 --> 00:34:06,645
He knows how many tears you've
wept for your unsaved kids.

687
00:34:07,169 --> 00:34:10,500
He knows how many negative
pregnancy tests have been taken.

688
00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:14,850
He knows about the coverup at work that
you're being asked to participate in.

689
00:34:14,850 --> 00:34:19,199
He knows the questions you wrestle with
late at night, seeking to resolve the

690
00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:23,159
tension between who you know him to be
and what you're experiencing right now.

691
00:34:23,370 --> 00:34:30,360
God knows exactly where you are, and
that's comforting for us, in fact,

692
00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:31,650
so deep as his knowledge of us.

693
00:34:31,650 --> 00:34:32,880
Look at Psalm 56, 8.

694
00:34:34,170 --> 00:34:36,239
You have kept count of my tossings.

695
00:34:37,260 --> 00:34:39,270
Think about that when you've been
suffering to the point of losing

696
00:34:39,270 --> 00:34:42,480
sleep at night, tossing back
and forth and back and forth.

697
00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:46,020
David knew what that was like, and he's
saying, God, you know the number of

698
00:34:46,020 --> 00:34:47,670
times I turned on my bed last night.

699
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:49,350
But then he goes beyond that.

700
00:34:49,350 --> 00:34:53,040
He says this, you've put
my tears in your bottle.

701
00:34:54,540 --> 00:34:58,170
Think of that church that
God loves you so much.

702
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,460
It's as though he's keeping count
of your tears in his bottle.

703
00:35:04,530 --> 00:35:09,510
The father knows what you're going
through, and that's comforting

704
00:35:09,510 --> 00:35:10,620
because of what he says.

705
00:35:10,620 --> 00:35:14,430
After that, you can continue
entrusting yourself to the one,

706
00:35:14,430 --> 00:35:18,810
not just who knows all things,
but to the one who judges justly.

707
00:35:19,470 --> 00:35:21,750
The second reason why we can
suffer patiently while trusting

708
00:35:21,750 --> 00:35:24,900
like Jesus is this, God is the
ultimate arbiter of justice.

709
00:35:26,610 --> 00:35:27,870
God is the ultimate judge.

710
00:35:28,380 --> 00:35:29,400
He's the ultimate ruler.

711
00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,930
Why didn't Jesus call down the angels?

712
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,590
Because he knew that God was gonna
see that justice would be done.

713
00:35:38,580 --> 00:35:42,300
It's not our job as much as we feel
like it is, and as much as sometimes

714
00:35:42,300 --> 00:35:46,290
we want it to be, it's not our job
to see that justice is carried out

715
00:35:46,290 --> 00:35:47,610
against those that make us suffer.

716
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:54,480
It's our job to trust the one who will
see to that there's two sides of this.

717
00:35:55,410 --> 00:35:57,240
First God will punish all sin.

718
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,710
He, he will punish all sin as
being the arbiter of justice.

719
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,410
God will punish every sinful thing
that's ever been done to you.

720
00:36:05,850 --> 00:36:09,180
And that's such a comfort because you
don't have to see that that's done.

721
00:36:10,500 --> 00:36:12,330
And sometimes that's hard for
us because the people that

722
00:36:12,330 --> 00:36:13,680
sin against us are believers.

723
00:36:14,820 --> 00:36:17,760
And so in the end, the, the sin that's
been committed and carried out against

724
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:22,200
you, ultimately God saw the justice was
satisfied at the cross for that sin.

725
00:36:24,030 --> 00:36:26,580
And that just reminds us of
how significant what took

726
00:36:26,580 --> 00:36:27,630
place on the cross was.

727
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,040
The wrath of God poured out against
the sins that were committed

728
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,290
against us, but also the sins
that we committed against others.

729
00:36:35,070 --> 00:36:38,370
God is gonna see that all sin is
punished either at the cross or in

730
00:36:38,370 --> 00:36:42,840
an eternal torment under the wrath of
God for all of the eternity in hell.

731
00:36:44,220 --> 00:36:47,490
So that allows you to trust him as
the ultimate arbiter of justice.

732
00:36:47,850 --> 00:36:50,310
But the second reason we trust him
as the ultimate arbiter of justice is

733
00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:52,290
that he will reward your faithfulness.

734
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,400
Not only will he punish all sin, but
he will reward your faithfulness.

735
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,990
You may not get the payoff for your
endurance, this side of eternity.

736
00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,620
Remember, Jesus submitting to
the Father as he suffered, led

737
00:37:04,620 --> 00:37:08,310
him to the cross in the garden.

738
00:37:08,310 --> 00:37:10,080
He was praying, God,
take this cup from me.

739
00:37:11,340 --> 00:37:13,350
But it was the father's will
that he should drink that cup.

740
00:37:14,550 --> 00:37:18,690
And so as as you go through the valley
of the shadow of death, the light at

741
00:37:18,690 --> 00:37:21,480
the end of the valley may be the light
of eternity, not the light that you're

742
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:22,830
gonna find, this side of eternity.

743
00:37:25,290 --> 00:37:29,880
The hope, though, is that you will
have the light and that faithfulness

744
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:33,060
that you're demonstrating by suffering
like Jesus suffered suffering

745
00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:37,500
patiently like that, that faithfulness
will be rewarded by your father.

746
00:37:39,270 --> 00:37:41,640
'cause he knows what you're going
through and he is the ultimate arbiter

747
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,530
of justice to punish sin into reward.

748
00:37:43,530 --> 00:37:44,220
Faithfulness.

749
00:37:45,420 --> 00:37:47,310
Some of you may know
the name Joni Erickson.

750
00:37:48,690 --> 00:37:52,410
She, uh, at a younger age,
suffered an accident when she

751
00:37:52,410 --> 00:37:54,930
dove into a lake that was too
shallow and she ended up paralyzed.

752
00:37:55,230 --> 00:37:57,420
And she tells a story
about some suffering.

753
00:37:58,665 --> 00:38:01,545
She's endured and, and now her
suffering is, is different than your

754
00:38:01,545 --> 00:38:04,215
suffering or my suffering or the
suffering of the Nigerian Christians.

755
00:38:04,215 --> 00:38:07,395
But I would still argue that, you know,
she's suffering as a, a believer, as

756
00:38:07,395 --> 00:38:12,375
she's suffering her paralysis, realizing,
okay, Lord, this is how you want to use

757
00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:16,680
my life and my testimony to bear witness
to you as I suffer through this physical.

758
00:38:17,325 --> 00:38:22,000
Malady that I have, and she tells
this story of being at a, a, a

759
00:38:22,005 --> 00:38:23,055
message that was being preached.

760
00:38:23,055 --> 00:38:25,665
She says, as at at at the close
of the message, the speaker asked

761
00:38:25,665 --> 00:38:27,165
everyone to do something unusual.

762
00:38:27,525 --> 00:38:30,525
He asked us to push our chairs away from
our tables if we feel comfortable in

763
00:38:30,525 --> 00:38:33,645
doing so, and to get out of our chair and
kneel on the carpeted floor in prayer.

764
00:38:34,605 --> 00:38:37,875
Well, I sat there in my wheelchair
and I watched as everyone in the room,

765
00:38:38,265 --> 00:38:40,365
there had to be maybe 500 or 600 people.

766
00:38:41,055 --> 00:38:43,725
All of them got outta their chairs
and they got down on their knees

767
00:38:43,725 --> 00:38:44,805
for a brief time of worship.

768
00:38:45,660 --> 00:38:47,280
With everyone kneeling
in the banquet room.

769
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:48,810
I sat there kind of standing out.

770
00:38:49,530 --> 00:38:51,810
I looked around and I
was sticking up way up.

771
00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:55,890
The only one sitting there in
the huge room and looking around.

772
00:38:55,890 --> 00:38:57,570
I could not stop the tears.

773
00:38:58,650 --> 00:39:00,090
Uh, and I was not crying out of pity.

774
00:39:00,900 --> 00:39:03,390
I mean, I wasn't crying because
I felt strange or different

775
00:39:03,390 --> 00:39:04,590
that I was the only one sitting.

776
00:39:04,875 --> 00:39:09,165
I know my eyes were wet because it was
so beautiful to see everyone kneeling in

777
00:39:09,165 --> 00:39:12,615
prayer, and it made me think of the day
when I too will be able to get up out of

778
00:39:12,615 --> 00:39:14,955
this wheelchair on new resurrected legs.

779
00:39:16,245 --> 00:39:21,195
I can't wait for that day because when I
get my glorified body, the first thing I'm

780
00:39:21,195 --> 00:39:25,755
going to do with my resurrected legs is
to fall down on grateful glorified knees.

781
00:39:27,150 --> 00:39:30,360
I will once again have the chance
to say with Psalm 95, 6, come

782
00:39:30,750 --> 00:39:32,010
let us bow down and worship.

783
00:39:32,430 --> 00:39:34,860
Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.

784
00:39:37,590 --> 00:39:40,290
As you think about whatever the
suffering that you're going through

785
00:39:40,290 --> 00:39:44,640
right now is, I think, Joni's, right?

786
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:49,980
It may not be that you're looking
forward to glorified legs, but maybe

787
00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:52,800
it's the, the restored relationship.

788
00:39:53,460 --> 00:39:54,930
Maybe it's the vindicated integrity.

789
00:39:56,655 --> 00:39:59,265
Maybe it's the satisfaction of a heart
that's been longing for something

790
00:39:59,265 --> 00:40:02,325
that God has chosen in his wisdom
not to provide for you right now,

791
00:40:04,575 --> 00:40:05,835
whatever it may be.

792
00:40:07,185 --> 00:40:12,855
I think that day when we step foot
into his presence and we see the

793
00:40:12,855 --> 00:40:17,115
faithfulness rewarded for how we
suffered for him here, I think we will

794
00:40:17,115 --> 00:40:20,535
be so overwhelmed, just like Joni,
that we will fall down and worship him

795
00:40:22,665 --> 00:40:24,105
when we experience the relief.

796
00:40:25,035 --> 00:40:27,915
When we experience the freedom, when
we experience the the, the knowledge

797
00:40:27,915 --> 00:40:31,785
that we will never again feel pain
or sorrow, I think we'll be so

798
00:40:31,785 --> 00:40:34,515
overwhelmed with gratitude that we
will fall down and worship our savior.

799
00:40:37,845 --> 00:40:40,935
As we entrust ourselves here,
though, to the one who judges

800
00:40:40,995 --> 00:40:45,165
justly, we do still hurt, and we do
still suffer, and we do still weep.

801
00:40:46,635 --> 00:40:50,145
But as we continue in our
passage, what we'll find is Jesus

802
00:40:50,145 --> 00:40:51,255
went before us in suffering.

803
00:40:52,860 --> 00:40:56,460
And it's his suffering that not only
saves us, but it, it's his suffering that

804
00:40:56,460 --> 00:41:00,000
gives purpose and meaning to the suffering
that we're enduring right now as well.

805
00:41:00,420 --> 00:41:01,200
Look at verse 24.

806
00:41:02,220 --> 00:41:06,870
He himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree, by the way, that again is.

807
00:41:06,925 --> 00:41:08,545
Penal substitutionary atonement.

808
00:41:08,815 --> 00:41:12,775
He bore our sins in his body on the tree.

809
00:41:12,775 --> 00:41:16,045
Peter uses the word tree there
as well, which calls to mind.

810
00:41:16,135 --> 00:41:20,215
Deuteronomy chapter 21 and Galatians
chapter three and Deuteronomy

811
00:41:20,215 --> 00:41:23,485
chapter 21, we find the law cursed
is everyone who hangs on a tree.

812
00:41:23,935 --> 00:41:29,155
Paul, in Galatians, chapter three,
says, he became a curse for us again.

813
00:41:29,155 --> 00:41:31,105
He took our place, he
became our substitute.

814
00:41:31,785 --> 00:41:35,595
He himself bore our sins in his
body on the tree that notice the

815
00:41:35,595 --> 00:41:39,645
purpose here, that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness.

816
00:41:41,265 --> 00:41:44,205
And so here we find that that
Jesus' death on the cross was

817
00:41:44,205 --> 00:41:47,745
not only for our justification,
but also for our sanctification.

818
00:41:48,795 --> 00:41:52,725
Not only that we would be justified
because he satisfied the wrath of

819
00:41:52,725 --> 00:41:56,565
God that our sins deserve, but also
that we might be sanctified as now

820
00:41:56,565 --> 00:41:59,295
we live differently as his followers.

821
00:42:00,180 --> 00:42:04,170
And that's going to involve how we respond
to the suffering in our life as well.

822
00:42:04,620 --> 00:42:09,570
He says by his wounds, you have been
healed, healed of our, our sins,

823
00:42:09,570 --> 00:42:11,340
healed of our, our sinful ways.

824
00:42:12,060 --> 00:42:13,530
And that was begun at the cross.

825
00:42:13,530 --> 00:42:18,060
But that's continuing in, in, in a sense,
we are continually being healed as God

826
00:42:18,060 --> 00:42:20,250
continually cleanses us and sanctifies us.

827
00:42:20,250 --> 00:42:22,800
And honestly, suffering is
a, is a large part of that.

828
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,670
I, I love the story of
Michelangelo's David.

829
00:42:28,035 --> 00:42:31,275
Because it was carte out of a,
a block of marble that was twice

830
00:42:31,275 --> 00:42:34,695
rejected by Master Artisans, and it
was left out in a courtyard to the

831
00:42:34,695 --> 00:42:36,375
exposure of all of the elements.

832
00:42:37,365 --> 00:42:40,395
And in fact, they had multiple other
artisans come forward and they said,

833
00:42:40,395 --> 00:42:42,375
Hey, will you use this block of marble?

834
00:42:42,375 --> 00:42:45,105
And they all said, no, I,
this is good for nothing.

835
00:42:45,105 --> 00:42:49,365
It's worthless until Michelangelo
came along and he said, I'll do it.

836
00:42:50,205 --> 00:42:52,875
And so Michelangelo began with
hammer and chisel in hand to

837
00:42:53,235 --> 00:42:55,875
carve out of this twice rejected.

838
00:42:56,895 --> 00:43:00,585
This, this despised block of
marble, one of the greatest

839
00:43:00,585 --> 00:43:01,785
statues of the world has ever seen.

840
00:43:02,955 --> 00:43:07,515
But if you think about that process,
that process was oftentimes violent.

841
00:43:08,895 --> 00:43:14,205
The hammer in the chisel,
that's not a, a calm endeavor.

842
00:43:15,270 --> 00:43:19,365
And, and, and even after all of
the, the large chunks are taken off,

843
00:43:19,365 --> 00:43:22,485
there's still the refining that still
needs to take place to that statute.

844
00:43:23,565 --> 00:43:27,525
The polishing, the sandpaper, the,
the, the finer smaller chisels and

845
00:43:27,525 --> 00:43:30,465
tools and implements to make sure that
there's no imperfections left there.

846
00:43:32,145 --> 00:43:32,505
Y'all.

847
00:43:32,775 --> 00:43:36,855
God is the master artisan with the hammer
and chisel in his hands through the spirit

848
00:43:36,855 --> 00:43:39,855
in our lives, making us look more like
Jesus all the way until we get to heaven.

849
00:43:41,475 --> 00:43:43,275
And sometimes that's a painful process.

850
00:43:44,085 --> 00:43:47,115
Sometimes it's the, the big chunks
that need to be taken out of our life.

851
00:43:48,015 --> 00:43:52,065
Sometimes it's the refining, it's the
smaller implements, it's the sandpaper.

852
00:43:53,580 --> 00:43:54,420
It's still abrasive.

853
00:43:55,650 --> 00:43:59,370
And so as we look at suffering, we
can realize that suffering also has

854
00:43:59,370 --> 00:44:01,650
a sanctifying impact on our lives.

855
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:08,460
And ultimately it's that he might, in
verse 25, here, take us who were string

856
00:44:08,460 --> 00:44:13,260
like sheep, and return us now to the
shepherd and overseer of our souls.

857
00:44:15,900 --> 00:44:19,560
See, Jesus died for you to
redeem you and to redeem the

858
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:20,670
suffering that you're enduring.

859
00:44:22,065 --> 00:44:26,085
Jesus Death means the pain that you
experience is not pointless, that

860
00:44:26,085 --> 00:44:27,615
your suffering is not meaningless.

861
00:44:28,815 --> 00:44:31,965
It has a purpose, and that purpose
is that you might be more like him.

862
00:44:32,595 --> 00:44:36,285
Our final point this morning is this
suffer purposefully becoming like Jesus

863
00:44:37,185 --> 00:44:40,035
suffer purposefully becoming like Jesus.

864
00:44:42,260 --> 00:44:46,125
In a way, this third point
really ties in the previous two.

865
00:44:47,955 --> 00:44:52,935
Because it's Jesus's death for us that
enables us to say that it's a privilege

866
00:44:52,935 --> 00:44:56,865
of suffering for him because it's Jesus's
death for us that causes us to be able

867
00:44:56,865 --> 00:45:02,565
to belong to him, and, and it's Jesus's
death for us that allows us to suffer

868
00:45:02,565 --> 00:45:04,070
patiently while trusting like him,

869
00:45:06,315 --> 00:45:09,225
because it's Jesus's death that
begins to conform us and begins

870
00:45:09,225 --> 00:45:14,085
that process of growing in
sanctification and christlikeness.

871
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:20,490
In a sense it's, it's like getting a
trainer and finally understanding the

872
00:45:20,490 --> 00:45:22,290
purpose behind all the different workouts.

873
00:45:22,290 --> 00:45:25,170
As you get ready for
that marathon, that 26.2

874
00:45:25,170 --> 00:45:29,310
that I was talking about earlier, before
you have a trainer to help, you're just,

875
00:45:29,460 --> 00:45:32,910
you're kind of hating every minute of
it and it feels aimless and you're not

876
00:45:32,970 --> 00:45:36,810
quite sure if you're making any progress
and you don't know where you're going.

877
00:45:36,810 --> 00:45:39,210
But then you get your trainer and
they show you the plan, and they

878
00:45:39,210 --> 00:45:41,970
explain how all of this is gonna
work together to get you to where you

879
00:45:41,970 --> 00:45:43,260
want to be across the finish line.

880
00:45:45,060 --> 00:45:48,150
When we come to faith in Jesus and
understand that he went before us

881
00:45:48,150 --> 00:45:51,900
as our model, as the stencil for our
lives, the one whose example we're

882
00:45:51,900 --> 00:45:55,470
following after then there becomes
this sense that, oh man, this,

883
00:45:55,470 --> 00:45:58,530
this suffering that I'm enduring in
this world, there's a point to it.

884
00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:03,780
It's to make me more like Christ,
as Peter says, to cause us to die

885
00:46:03,780 --> 00:46:06,120
to sin and to live to righteousness.

886
00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:09,150
And so we can take that paradigm
and apply it to our suffering.

887
00:46:09,585 --> 00:46:13,545
That Jesus died so that we might die to
sinful responses to suffering and live

888
00:46:13,545 --> 00:46:15,105
to righteous responses to suffering.

889
00:46:15,855 --> 00:46:20,175
For example, that we might die to
self-pity that we might die to feelings

890
00:46:20,175 --> 00:46:26,475
of despair and hopelessness, that we
might die to a thirst for vengeance, that

891
00:46:26,475 --> 00:46:32,625
we would die to retaliatory acts that
we would die to passive aggressiveness,

892
00:46:33,675 --> 00:46:36,735
that we would die to sinful anxiety.

893
00:46:38,310 --> 00:46:41,310
We would die to bitterness
and anger and resentment.

894
00:46:42,780 --> 00:46:47,250
Christ's death is so that we would
die to those things as we encounter

895
00:46:47,250 --> 00:46:50,160
suffering in this world and that
we would live to righteousness.

896
00:46:50,940 --> 00:46:55,050
That we would live to trust God's
goodness that we would live to encounter

897
00:46:55,050 --> 00:46:58,980
suffering by trusting in God's sovereign
plan that we would live to encounter

898
00:46:58,980 --> 00:47:03,120
suffering by forgiving those who wrong
us, that we would live as we encounter

899
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:07,770
suffering, to roll over our desire for
justice to, to him, and to trust him.

900
00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:11,820
That we would live as we encounter
suffering, to stay faithful to God's word,

901
00:47:11,820 --> 00:47:15,960
no matter our situations that we would
live as we encounter suffering to hope

902
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:18,600
that this life is not all that there is.

903
00:47:19,770 --> 00:47:23,130
That we would live as we encounter
suffering to destroy the idols that have

904
00:47:23,130 --> 00:47:27,510
a grip on our lives, that we would live
as we encounter suffering to show mercy to

905
00:47:27,510 --> 00:47:32,580
others as we have been shown mercy that we
would live as we encounter suffering as a

906
00:47:32,580 --> 00:47:35,700
witness of our faith in our living hope.

907
00:47:37,050 --> 00:47:41,490
Christ's death for us was not
only the example, but it also

908
00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:45,660
has redeemed our suffering for a
purpose to make us more like him.

909
00:47:47,595 --> 00:47:49,155
Your suffering has meaning and purpose.

910
00:47:49,665 --> 00:47:52,665
Whatever that suffering looks like
for you, the suffering of the Nigerian

911
00:47:52,665 --> 00:47:54,315
Christians has meaning and purpose,

912
00:47:56,925 --> 00:47:58,245
whatever that looks like for them.

913
00:47:59,355 --> 00:48:02,205
And so it's not grin and bear it until
you cross the finish line and feel relief.

914
00:48:02,985 --> 00:48:06,525
Relief is waiting, but the miles you're
putting on right now, as you run the

915
00:48:06,525 --> 00:48:10,215
race of God before you, the suffering
you're enduring while running is going

916
00:48:10,215 --> 00:48:15,075
to result in a swer reward in more crowns
because you're being made more like him.

917
00:48:19,350 --> 00:48:21,360
To be a Christian is to suffer.

918
00:48:22,830 --> 00:48:24,480
There's no getting around that fact.

919
00:48:25,530 --> 00:48:27,780
The comforting reality is it's worth it.

920
00:48:27,780 --> 00:48:32,490
If we suffer the way that God is calling
us to suffer, we suffer as a privilege.

921
00:48:32,550 --> 00:48:35,190
We suffer patiently and
we suffer purposefully.

922
00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:39,120
We do have a lot to be
grateful for in this nation.

923
00:48:39,465 --> 00:48:43,815
We're, we're, we're, we're not suffering
to the same extent as others in the world.

924
00:48:43,815 --> 00:48:46,635
We're not going through what the, the
Christians and other places are going

925
00:48:46,635 --> 00:48:50,625
through, but like I said earlier, the
quantity of our suffering does not have a

926
00:48:50,625 --> 00:48:52,035
bearing on the quality of our suffering.

927
00:48:53,025 --> 00:48:57,615
Your suffering is real where you
are, and it has a real purpose

928
00:48:57,645 --> 00:49:02,055
in God's plan for you ultimately
to make you more like Jesus.

929
00:49:02,670 --> 00:49:05,460
And it's a gracious thing of God
that we have a savior who understands

930
00:49:05,460 --> 00:49:06,990
what it means to suffer and left us.

931
00:49:06,990 --> 00:49:10,290
A perfect example that we might
trace that stencil with our own

932
00:49:10,290 --> 00:49:15,720
lives as we suffer for our faith in
Him To be a Christian is to suffer.

933
00:49:15,720 --> 00:49:18,660
And yes, I believe as long as
we're suffering the way that

934
00:49:18,660 --> 00:49:19,800
God calls us to, it's worth it.

935
00:49:20,370 --> 00:49:20,970
Let's pray together.

936
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:26,010
Father, I'm aware in a room like this
that people are suffering in ways that

937
00:49:26,010 --> 00:49:30,510
that I don't know, or ways that I can't
imagine, ways that I've never experienced.

938
00:49:31,185 --> 00:49:32,055
And vice versa.

939
00:49:33,045 --> 00:49:35,595
And yet, Lord, we, we want to no
matter where we are, no matter

940
00:49:35,595 --> 00:49:38,385
what our suffering looks like as
individuals, we wanna suffer faithfully.

941
00:49:38,385 --> 00:49:41,055
We wanna suffer the way
that you have left us.

942
00:49:41,055 --> 00:49:42,015
An example through Christ.

943
00:49:42,015 --> 00:49:46,845
We wanna suffer for your good and
for your glory, Lord, ultimately, we

944
00:49:46,845 --> 00:49:49,425
long for the day when you're gonna
wipe away every tear from our eyes.

945
00:49:49,425 --> 00:49:51,375
We long for the day when
suffering is gonna be gone.

946
00:49:51,375 --> 00:49:54,255
When, when death, and, and pain and
sorrow, and sickness and disease,

947
00:49:54,525 --> 00:49:55,425
all of it are gonna be gone.

948
00:49:55,425 --> 00:49:57,945
Lord, we want to be with
you and we would pray.

949
00:49:57,945 --> 00:49:59,445
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

950
00:50:00,465 --> 00:50:04,065
But in the meantime, Lord, help
us to grow in our trust of you so

951
00:50:04,065 --> 00:50:08,085
that we wouldn't despise suffering,
but that we would welcome it.

952
00:50:08,985 --> 00:50:12,165
Even see as, as Paul wrote in
Romans chapter eight, that we

953
00:50:12,165 --> 00:50:15,105
will be glorified with Christ
provided that we suffer with him.

954
00:50:16,695 --> 00:50:19,305
Lord, we can't wait to be with you.

955
00:50:19,755 --> 00:50:21,435
But in the meantime, Lord,
we wanna be faithful.

956
00:50:22,065 --> 00:50:25,515
And we wanna exalt you and glorify you in
how we live and how we respond, and how

957
00:50:25,515 --> 00:50:27,015
we doubt a sin and live to righteousness.

958
00:50:27,555 --> 00:50:29,505
So we pray that you'd be pleased
with the way that we conduct our

959
00:50:29,505 --> 00:50:32,415
lives here while we await the return
of Christ or you calling us home.

960
00:50:32,955 --> 00:50:34,245
We pray this all in Jesus name.

961
00:50:34,515 --> 00:50:34,935
Amen.