I Peter
4:12-19
(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry Reynolds)
November 21, 2013
1.
Virtually
all of you would recognize the name Mother Teresa...as a matter of fact, even
though she died over fifteen years ago, you can probably visualize in your mind
how she looked...Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun who founded a convent in
Calcutta, India...she spent her life in caring for and being an advocate for
the poor...she impacted our world in a way that few people have done...
2.
You
probably will not recognize the name Eileen Egan...but Eileen Egan worked
alongside Mother Teresa for more than 30 years...she wrote a book about Mother
Teresa entitled Such a Vision of the Street...in that book is an
interesting statement which I believe gives some insight into the incredible
accomplishments of Mother Teresa... Eileen Egan says that on one occasion she
was laying out to Mother Teresa a series of what seemed to be insurmountable
problems facing them...one after another, Eileen Egan explained the problems to
Mother Teresa...and here’s how Mother Teresa responded: “Do we have to
call everything a problem? Why not erase the word problem from our vocabulary
and instead use the word gift?” [Brian’s Lines, Vol.16, Issue 6, p.25]
3.
I
like that!...it’s a reminder that things we view as negatives can really be
positives in our lives...we can view difficulties in terms of problems or we
can view difficulties in terms of opportunities...
4.
The
people to whom the NT letter of I Peter was originally sent were on the verge
of facing some great difficulties...the Roman government, under the leadership
of the Emperor Nero, had turned on the Christians...a severe, brutal government
sponsored persecution was heading their way...and in I Peter 4:12-19 Peter
instructs these Christian to view that persecution not as a problem but as a
gift...look in your Bibles to I Peter 4:12-19 (text)...
T.S. – We are on the cusp of the
Christmas season...one frustration that many of us experience during this
season is the frustration of trying to find just the right gift for our loved
ones...and as we think about all the possible gifts we could give, the furthest
thing from our mind would be wishing for those whom we love the gift of
suffering...but as strange as it may sound, in this paragraph Peter encourages
his readers to view suffering in terms of gift...and in these verses he points
out two instances when suffering becomes a gift...
I. Suffering
becomes a gift when we allow it to sharpen our faith in Christ
1.
Notice
how Peter begins this paragraph...”Beloved, do not be surprised at
the fiery ordeal among you..."...there’s
a whole sermon in that single statement...the implication of those words is
that some of the Christians in the 1st century were surprised when
suffering came their way...they—
--apparently believed that faith
in Christ somehow was suppose to make them immune from suffering...
--may have bought into the heresy
which is still prevalent in some Christian circles today...the heresy of
thinking that if you are really a spiritual person, if you are really committed
to and in touch with God, God will protect you from all suffering...and if you
experience suffering, that is an indication of some spiritual weakness or
spiritual problem in your life...
2.
But
in this verse Peter says Christians shouldn't view suffering that
way...suffering is a part of every person’s experience in this world—
·
Sometimes
suffering comes to our lives as a result of our commitment to Christ...that is
the kind of suffering Peter is talking about in this paragraph...someone has
said that “...the world does not persecute religious people, but it does
persecute righteous people...”[Wiersbe, p.113]...the way of the world
is built on lies, pride, pleasure, and the desire to get more...the way of
righteousness is built on truth, humility, holiness, and the desire to glorify
God...when a person chooses righteousness over worldliness, person invariably
suffers the wrath of, the contempt of, and even persecution from those who
don’t understand that commitment...
·
Sometimes
suffering comes to our lives merely as a result of living in a fallen
world...accidents, illnesses, and death are no respecters of persons...we are
all subject to those things...
·
Sometimes
suffering comes to our lives because of our sin and disobedience...we often
choose our way over God’s way and the result is our lives are diminished
because of that...
3.
And
in this paragraph Peter tells us that when suffering comes our way, as surely
it will, no matter what its source, instead of viewing it as a sign of spiritual
weakness or as punishment for some wrong deed, view it as a gift...as a gift
which provides us the opportunity of sharpening, of deepening our faith in
Christ...
1.
Notice
the phrase used in v.12 to describe the suffering of Christians...Peter
describes our suffering as a “fiery ordeal”...that phrase refers
to process by which precious metals are refined... the refiner’s fire separates
the precious metal from the impurities ...separates that which has great value
from that which has no value...
2.
And
in the same way, suffering in our lives can have the impact of refining our
faith...of burning away the impurities...of making our faith purer, stronger,
sharper...
1.
Martin
Niemoeller was a German pastor who spent years in a Nazi concentration
camp...he survived the war and shortly after his release was interviewed by a
reporter...in the story written from the interview the reporter said that
Niemoeller’s years of suffering in a concentration camp did not destroy
him...did not make him bitter or angry...instead, the reporter said Pastor
Niemoeller’s experience of suffering “purified him to an incandescent
faith” [I Peter Study, Harbour]
2.
Suffering
becomes a gift when we allow it to sharpen, to purify our faith in Christ...
II. Suffering becomes a gift when we allow it to strengthen our
relationship with God
1.
It’s
often been said that experiences of suffering will do one of two things to our
relationship with God...suffering will either draw us closer to God or it will
drive us away from God...in this passage Peter says that suffering becomes a
gift when we allow it to draw us closer to God...
2.
Throughout
this paragraph are reminders of how suffering can strengthen our relationship
with God...
--in v.13 we’re told that as we
suffer we “share in the sufferings of Christ”...in other words,
as we experience suffering we are walking a pathway familiar to Jesus...for the
prophet Isaiah described Jesus as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with
grief”...
--then in v.14 we’re told that as
we suffer “the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us”...in
other words, as we experience suffering, God is with us in a special
way...while He doesn’t promise us immunity from suffering, He does promise us His
presence for the hour of suffering...it is a wonderful and comforting thought
that God doesn't abandon us in our hour
of need...when experience hurt and
heartache, God doesn't stand aside and observe us in cold, objective way...He comes to us and he suffers
along with us...we need not ask "Where
is God?" when we suffer...according
to Scripture he is right alongside us, sharing in our suffering...
--and in v.19 we’re told that as
we suffer we are to “entrust our souls” to God...word translated "entrust"
had special meaning in 1st century...there were no banks as we know
them in that day...before person went on journey, would entrust his money to
the safe‑keeping of reliable friend...such trust was regarded as one most sacred
duties person could accept.. . friend bound by all honor and religion to keep
money safe and return it intact...what
Peter saying here is "God is reliable...when entrust selves to Him can be sure will not
fail us...can have complete, utter
confidence in him all time...and
especially in times of suffering.."
3.
The
cumulative impact of those statements is to remind us that times of suffering
have the potential of drawing us closer to God...and when we allow that to
happen, suffering then becomes a precious gift...
CONCLUSION
1.
I’ve
told you before about my Granddad
Reynolds...he was one of the key mentors of my life...granddad was a pastor,
missionary, and denominational worker for many years...when he retired in the
early 1960's he and Grandmother Reynolds moved to Houston near our home...on
October 30, 1977 Grandmother Reynolds suddenly died of a stroke...Granddad
lived for about nine years after her death...I remember watching him during the
time of Grandmother’s death and being impressed with the poise and dignity with
which he carried himself...while he was deeply saddened by the loss of his wife
of more than 50 years, there was a calmness of spirit, a peace, a sense of
strength about him during that time which was quite obvious to me...
2.
After
Granddad died, the family was going through some old sermon notes and other
papers from his office...came across a very interesting thing...we found a
prayer Granddad had written shortly after Grandmother had died...his prayer
illustrates well the principles I see in this paragraph in I Peter and I want
to share it with you...
A Prayer by Granddad Reynolds
Thank you, Father,
for giving us as much time together as we had.
Spare me now from further pain of self-inflicted self-pity.
I accept the fact
that I have no right to expect that I can be so highly privileged as to never
experience any sorrow in my life-time.
This is my time to experience a cross, and I do so bravely.
I remember with
joy and eternal gratitude our wedding day.
You made no promise to us then, guaranteeing a fixed number of years
together. I thank you for what we have
had, and I will not think about what we could have had.
I will look now at
what I have left, not at what I have lost.
I weigh the fruit of our love and marriage in terms of years happily
spent and in our family joys that live on in happy memories.
I thank you,
Father, that our marriage terminated not in bitter grief but in sweet
sorrow. Not in an ignoble scene of angry
parting but through the honored call of God who has glorified our marriage with
the holy call, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
My tears are happy
tears of love and gratitude. I thank you
that our love for each other is still alive this very moment.
I sense I am surrounded
by an invisible presence and power of an indescribable love. It is the comfort of your Holy Spirit. I praise you, my God and my Father, for your
goodness and mercy.
In Jesus name, Amen.
(Written
by Reverend Thomas Tucker Reynolds in 1977
at the
death of his wife of more than sixty years.)
3.
Suffering
becomes a gift when we allow it to—
--sharpen our faith in Christ...
--strengthen our relationship
with God...
