Bro Gary Weds PM 4/13/11
Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Mat 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Peter didn’t understand what was going on; we’ll not be too hard on Peter. There are a lot of times that we don’t know exactly what is going on.
Jesus rebuked Peter and then left the message that whosoever will save his life shall lose it. This has been repeated many times, people choosing their own way and trying to save their life only to be destroyed.
Jesus came back and said that whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited if he gained it all and lost his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul.
God chose suffering and Jesus Christ suffered. He did it for us. Peter had trouble with the thought of suffering. Sometimes the natural man has problems with what is written in the scripture. 30 years later, Peter said:
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
Being a Christian will not put us on an easy road. There is something about choosing to go up the highway of holiness and being holy; there is something about being obedient to the Word of God that will cause people to pick you out sometimes and you will suffer. If we choose to have the approval of men then we will get that reward; if we chose to have to approval of God then we will have that reward.
Why would it matter so much to people that you will choose to not do what they want? If what they are doing is so satisfying, why do they want you to do what they are doing?
It took Peter 30 years to write this. I don’t know if you consider yourself a slow learner or not, but Peter wasn’t the first or the last to be a slow learner.
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
1Pe 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
We were all there, living in the flesh.
We may be spoken evil of by evil people.
1Pe 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Thank God for the Gospel. Aren’t you glad that you one day heard that Gospel?
1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
1Pe 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1Pe 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
It’s wonderful to hear what God has done and it is wonderful to hear what God is doing and it is wonderful to hear what God will do. We live in a world where there is way too much information. You may be able to keep up with it all and not get discouraged or it not effect you spiritually.
I never get tired of hearing of the marvelous things that Jesus has done. I never get tired of hearing the testimony of a life that was messed up by sin and rescued. I never get tired of reading testimonials written by F G Smith of those that stood the test and wouldn’t bow or bend. They held onto God and whoever thought they were destroying them did not succeed. As my dad would say, “They were on a shortcut to heaven.”
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
I’m told that it doesn’t matter how many times you test gold, it always comes out gold. The design for us is that all the dross would be removed and only the gold remain. It may take a fiery trial. We think, “Now God, Why am I here?” (It is not that God is chastening us. When we do wrong then God chastens us.) It is merely a test to see if I’m going to stay true to God even when something goes wrong. Fiery trials usually don’t happen in the singular.
Peter had some trials. Peter had a distance to go before he was perfected to be what God wanted him to be. That didn’t mean that God wanted him to suffer. Peter needed to be perfected.
I think of the opportunity that Peter had to be a witness to that girl that said, “You’re one of them.” Peter denied it, can you imagine later Peter as he thought upon his failure.
I reemphasize, “Think it not strange.” I have no idea what all the trials the saints are going through. We’d like to be a Simon and pick up the cross and carry it a while for them. Sometimes the place we find our self in is a strange trial.
We’ve done our best. There may have been nothing in your heart that rose up against God. You’ve poured your strength, your life, and your time into the work and someone tramples it under foot and you question, “Where was my discernment, where did I fail.” Peter is telling us this evening that you didn’t fail, “think it not strange but rejoice in as much as you are a partaker of Christ’s suffering.”
Do what you do for the Lord’s glory so that when something comes around to try you, you can say that “I did it for the Lord.”
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
Peter had changed his view point over the 30 years. When you are in the trial and you would feel like one would say, “the gates of hell are opened against your mind, your body, and your soul.” When we feel like that has happened the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
I don’t have the ability to multitask. When we’re in the heated trial, our mind is consumed. We think, “What is going on? How can I get rid of the devil? Where is God?” God is here and there and everywhere.
“God I’m in the battle and all I can think is: fear here, headache there, and mind boggle somewhere else.”
Remember what Peter said, when you’re reproached, God wants you happy.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
One thing that I know is that trials will cause us to really check our self out. “God I’m going to look everything over.” God will work through the trial so that we are in a position to help the lost.
“God I’m yours, I’d have never asked for this, I don’t want to be here, I’m not on a cruise to get sympathy, I don’t want to suffer.”
Peter said, “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto the faithful Creator.
We accept, God you have chosen this furnace of affliction so I’m going to commit the keeping of my soul to you in well doing as unto a faithful Creator.
1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
There is grace through suffering. There is a cross to carry; we can choose to turn our back on God and His son and the crosses. I’m not so sure that people can ever get away from the cross of Christ. They may try to block it out of their mind; I’m not so sure that they can. It is a part of history; but more than that, it is a part of the ordained plan of God.
Each of us has different personalities and would say something different for what suffering means to us. Suffering is suffering.
I wouldn’t try to tell you where you are in the “suffered a while” But there is one thing that I know and that is that the grace of God will be there. The design of suffering is to bring a perfectness to our relationships between us and God and between us and each other.
It is to establish you. It is easy to say. It is easy to sing the words, “To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; the shame and reproach gladly bear.” They’re beautiful words, but in the midst of the suffering will we be true? It is in the difficult times that we prove our love for each other. This is not only true in serving God but it is also true in the whole concept of life.
The events of life bring all of us to the question, “Are we going to do what we’ve vowed to do when we are suffering?”
It is to strengthen us. Can one be strengthened by suffering? Remember when the angel came to Jesus in the garden strengthening Him? The angel has been there for each of us over and over again.
Peter had come from the question, “Can there be suffering for the man of God?”, to the statement, “if any suffer let him not be ashamed.”
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