First Peter chapter four, verse number 12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. 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. 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. 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." Notice the busybody among the big sins, quote unquote. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time has 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? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 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. Yes, Heavenly Father, your direction as we consider somewhat superficially this paragraph of your word, we pray that you draw out from it those things that we need to hear as individuals. Glorify yourself in us, whether we be receiving the heights of your blessings or the depth of your trials. Glorify yourself, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. It appears to me that Peter was concerned about those saints in Asia Minor, in Galatia and Pontus and Cappadocia. Perhaps he had heard that they were suffering particular persecution or something like that. Or perhaps he was afraid that they might stumble and turn from Christ, denying the testimony that they had earlier given of their profession of the Lord. In the midst of other subjects, Peter mentions these problems in every chapter of the book. Chapter one, you are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. The trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Chapter two, for this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. What glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you take it patiently, but if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Chapter three, but if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Then chapter five, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world, elsewhere in the world. Now you may be thinking, all right, that's interesting, but that doesn't have anything to do with me. Are you sure? Perhaps your trials right now are not quite as fiery as those brethren were suffering two millennia ago or two centuries ago as far as that's concerned. But how will you respond when the heat is turned up under you and you are considered a criminal for following the precepts of the word of God? It could happen with an exchange in government. or with no change in government, or with no government, as far as that goes. And next week, when your closest loved one is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, will you feel a little more sympathy toward these people and the things that they were suffering? It's not just political stuff that they're suffering. It's all sorts of things. Don't the words in verse number 12, seem to suggest that fiery trials are coming, and in fact they are to be expected. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you." It's as though, hey, here it comes. Get ready for it. Something to remember is that we're going to spend eternity with the people to whom Peter was writing this epistle. We are connected to them by our mutual faith in Christ. We are part of the same divine family. You might say they're older brethren than us, but brethren nevertheless. We may be separated by thousands of years, separated by thousands of miles, but under Christ there may be more similarities than we realize. And speaking about connections, that's the theme that I would like to follow as we look through these eight verses. Multi-layered fellowship is one of the blessings of fiery trials. As I say, Peter hints at our connections with other believers. The first word in this paragraph that we just mentioned is beloved. Sometimes this Greek word is translated beloved. Sometimes the same Greek word is translated well beloved. And sometimes it's translated dearly beloved. Just the same word. It might be interpreted as a reference to God's love for all of these children of his. And there would be nothing wrong with that. We are all loved of God if we are his children. But isn't it obvious that Peter is referring to his affection for these people? At least that's the way I see it. They are connected by love. His heart was linked to their hearts, tied together. And circumstances oftentimes just draw the rope between our hearts tighter and tighter. The circumstances bring these suffering people together. The trials surrounding each of them are not unique. to the individual. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. You are not alone in these things. 1 Corinthians 10.13 may be a little different context, and yet there hath no temptation, there hath no trial taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. So the sufferings that you have may be unique to you, but they're really not much different from the unique problems that another person has. I have never torn an Achilles tendon, but hey, I'd have an appendix taken out. There are some similarities there, I suppose. You are not the first Christian to have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Comforters are available. Other Christians have grieved now just as you're grieving over that loved one who committed suicide. I'm just pulling things out of the air. You are not the first Christian to be hunted down as if you were some sort of rabid dog. Others have gone through the same things. Verse number 17 is somewhat confusing. I'll address that, Lord willing, on Sunday morning. But Peter speaks of the house of God. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. At this point, I'll just point to the house of God. Can that be anything else but the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? It is expected that each member of God's family join their father and their elder brother for dinner at the table in the family dining room. It should be done on a regular basis, at least once a week, but how about every day? And that glorious meal prepared by the father's servants not only feed us, but they give us an opportunity to fellowship with others around the events of the week. sharing the pain that we've had or the joy that we've had, and helping the rest of the brethren who are dining with us. Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as the manner of some is. That weekly meal might include exhorting one another, but also encouraging one another. in the midst of each other's problems. There is a fellowship between family members as individuals feel the heat from their fiery trials. But the most precious connection is that which exists between the sufferer and the Lord Jesus. our Savior. Beloved, 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. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. I should spend a couple of hours on this point. It is such a profound thought. But if I did, I'd probably reveal how ignorant I am in explaining something like this. I'll just give you a few highlights. Our souls are so entwined with the Savior that God sees the one in the other. He sees us in Christ. Christ is the vine, we are the branches. When one flourishes, the other flourishes. When he flourishes, we flourish. When we are producing fruit, he is glorified. The Lord said to the man attempting to arrest and prosecute his saints, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? What Paul was doing was persecuting Christ's disciples. Other unbelievers will say to Christ the judge, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered or a thirst or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least of these my brethren, ye did it not to me. There is a glorious, mysterious bond between Christ and his people. One of these days Christ's glory shall be revealed, and when that takes place, We will rejoice with him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The words happy are ye in verse number 14 are a classic understatement or under translation. What Peter was saying here was that we will be overjoyed We will be dancing for joy at the revelation of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we shall be blessed. How can I put this? Our blessing will be tied to what we have suffered in this world as it relates to the Lord Jesus. The Bible teaches that we partake of Christ's sufferings when we suffer in the name of Christ. And I suppose there may be more than one way to interpret the phrase, the name of Christ, but one of them has to be as someone who wears the name of Christ. In verse 16, Peter says, if any man suffer as a Christian, Let him not be ashamed. The word Christian doesn't come up that often in the New Testament. What does it mean? The person of Christ, the person who follows Christ, I should say. The Christian is someone who carries the name of Christ on his soul and in his outward life. When that Iranian repents and receives Christ as his Lord and Savior, putting on his name, the Savior's name, he gives his earthly life to the Savior, and it may be extinguished within the next two months, but he does it. Also in the midst of our fiery trials, we're connected to the Holy Spirit. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. Yes, I realize that in your Bible the word spirit there is in the lower case, no capital S. But remember that omission was made by the printer of your Bible and it can't be proven one way or another by the Greek language because they didn't use capitals and lowercase. Everything was all the same. I can't read it any other way but as the Holy Spirit. And I couldn't find a commentator who disagreed with me. We're talking about the Holy Spirit here. For the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. Now think back on Stephen. Stephen the deacon, Stephen the servant of God in the church in Jerusalem. Picture Stephen as Saul and his friends illegally executed him for his testimony of faith in Jesus as Christ. It is said that Saul and his friends gnashed on him with their teeth. Was that literal or figurative? Why not literal? But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus standing in the right hand of God. I believe that is an example of what Peter is describing for us. Happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. We might think of Stephen's last day on earth as being the worst day of his life. I think if we had an opportunity to ask him, he might tell us that to be enveloped with the Holy Spirit at that moment was the greatest highlight of his earthly life, even though it was at that point he died. You may not sense it or realize it, but we all have the opportunity of enjoying that same sort of blessing. I do not believe that we will all look into the throne room of God before we leave this world, at least with our physical eyes. But we can look by faith, and we certainly can be filled and engulfed with the same spirit as Stephen. It may come on you while you're in the service of the Lord, or it may come to you in the midst of your fiery trial that the Holy Spirit comes on you. And of course, every Christian should reach out to our Heavenly Father during our darkest hours. Verse 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. And verse 16, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. Let him glorify God on his behalf. There are a couple of things here. As painful as it may sound, Jehovah is the sovereign God of this world. If we suffer in this world, it is according to his purpose. He has permitted it for some particular reason. The basketball coach gets a new freshman on his team. And he may require that new player to endure a variety of drills and difficult training situations. But that coach knows what it should produce in the young man if they are carried out correctly. And it may be that he, the coach, is thinking more of the team than he is just this one individual. If we can strengthen this individual to be a team player, it makes the team better. So he may be testing and trying and training that athlete to make the team better and to glorify the name of the school. and God may have ordained your fiery trial for His glory, for His name. What a privilege there is in that. We are connected to God the Father with His hand reaching down toward us. And in the midst of our fiery trial, we need to reach back. Back toward the Lord. We need to be like Stephen, committing the keeping of our souls unto the Lord while in the midst of that flame. And as Peter says, but let him glorify God on his behalf. I will not pretend that this is easy. But that could be because we're so soft. We just don't exercise this suffering muscle very much. And when we're forced to do it, it's tight, it pulls. They stoned Stephen. while he was calling upon God and saying, Lord, receive my spirit. He committed unto the Lord his spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. He died. I won't attempt to put words in Stephen's mouth, but I think that this saint of God was happy to be able to glorify God in this way. Very likely, we're all going to leave this world through the portal of death. And we are probably not going to be given the opportunity as to which door we'll go through. But I think Stephen was thinking, this is an excellent way to die. I'm gonna have to die anyway. Thank you, Father. I praise you, Lord, for giving me this special privilege to die in this way. The word creator is found in verse number 19. Did you know it's found only, the Greek word is found only in one other verse. Paul, in condemning our sins, said in Romans 1, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever, amen. If I was writing Peter's letter on his behalf, I might have said that the Lord was a faithful savior or a faithful God, but he said creator. Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls unto him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. Why did he use that word? Could it be that we had been created for this purpose? There's one more connection which trials provide. It's a connection to the lost. Verse 18. If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? I plan to I will attempt to clarify this on Sunday morning, whether I actually do or not is another matter. I will attempt to, but for this evening, let's just hang in there for a minute. Let's say that a certain woman, an unbeliever, has a daughter whom the Lord has saved. Mother sees an immediate positive change in her child as this young lady begins to love and serve her savior. But then she sees the world turn on her Christian baby. Maybe the child gets sick, like Job. Or maybe, like Job, her friends forsake her and betray her. And yet this Christian remains faithful to her Savior, enduring the affliction for God's glory. She carries a smile even when her mother knows that she's in pain. Her baby, through her suffering, has been given a special avenue in which to minister to her mother. There's already a tie there, mother and daughter. But now that this young lady is suffering to some degree, Mother takes notice of that. Those who are saved have been made righteous in a very difficult way, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to the pain injured by the Savior, the child of God may go through a great many fiery trials during her life. Mother may not initially see or understand, but if the righteous are saved through extreme difficulty, what's going to happen to the unbeliever? That mother may come to see that she is going to have to endure a lot more than her daughter because she's lost. She's under the wrath of God. When we suffer as Christians, it may be before the eyes of a whole flock of lost sheep. When we suffer for Christ, the relationship we have with the Savior may be seen by unbelievers. It provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to reach another Sol of Tarsus. with the gospel. I'll close with a statement from the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your rejoicing in heaven.