We want to thank you for listening to this week's sermon from Harvest Bible Chapel, Kansas City. We pray that you will be encouraged and challenged by God's Word today. If you would like more information about Harvest, please visit our website at www.harvestkansascity.org. But today we're going to dive into 1 Peter 4. And so if you are new here or you just don't have a Bible, our ushers are going to be coming down and they'll be gladly give you a Bible. And if you don't have one in your home and you don't have one you personally can read, please take this home with you. Because as we go through today, you're going to see the richness of God's Word. You're going to see the richness of the text. And so I want you to witness it for yourself today. And so please take a Bible. Don't be afraid. And so our ushers will gladly hand it to you. So we'll be in 1 Peter 4 today, and we'll be reading verses 12 through 19. And as you may know, this week is going to start many schools, right? And so a lot of kids will be going back to class. College students will start probably in the next couple of weeks. And so as a former student, I just remember hearing the phrase constantly, life is a classroom. And so I don't know if you know that phrase. And I was always thinking, life is a classroom. No, this is a classroom. This is hard. This is tough. But no, I was reminded that we're always in the process of learning. But one thing I did enjoy about school was that first day, you're excited. You're ready to get back into it. You're ready to learn. And so what you go is you go into class, and the first thing the teacher gives you is that thing called a syllabus, right? And so they would go through, explain what the class is, and then they get to the most important page. How are you going to be graded? And so that was of interest to me because I wanted to pass and move on, right? And so they would pass out and they start saying the percentages that will count towards your class. So the first one, it's just reading completions, 10% of your grade. And I think, all right, reading. Yep, I can do that. I can do that well. And the best thing about reading usually is that I can wait for a while before I have to get to it, right? And so that was a 10%. Then they get to the 30% of your grade was projects or reports. And so you get to that part, and I'd be like, I'm a classic, classic procrastinator. So I'd be thinking, all right, this is due in three months. So in two months and 29 days, I'll have to do this project. So usually, my family would attest that I had some late nights and maybe some all-nighters to get those projects done. But that was my tendency. So I'd be like, OK, I can do that. That's a ways off. And then 40% was taking tests. Again, I had this procrastination thing down. And so what I would do is the day before the test, I would cram, cram, cram, dump the knowledge on that test, and forget that information ever existed after that. And so I would go, and I'd be like, all right, I have this under control. But then we get to the last part. The part and the word I hated the most, 20% of your grade is going to be pop quizzes. I was like, pop quizzes? Why were pop quizzes so hard? It's because procrastinator, right? I only want to prepare for when I knew it would come. And guess what? Pop quizzes you don't know are coming. And so what I'd have to do is that meant that I'd be ready, studying, and be ready to output that information any time the teachers will decide they were going to give us a pop quiz. So I dreaded pop quizzes because I always knew that I needed to be prepared for them. The truth is, in our life, is that there's not normally these long, these tests that you foresee, they're not reports that you foresee. No, life is a continual pop quiz. And so we think of trials, trials, just think about trials, they come unexpectedly. They don't come when we're like, yep, I'm ready. They come at any moment according to God's will in your life. And so we always are being prepared and ready. But what will happen is if we don't have the right mindset, if we are caught in this world, when that trial comes, typically the result of that trial is that we find ourselves in despair. We find ourselves in confusion and we find ourselves broken. We're like, what in the world? But thankfully, as we consider 1 Peter 4.12-19 today, is that we're going to see if we have the proper mindset and the proper heart, that it will actually carry us through our suffering and we will have joy. Suffering with joy. So let's dive into 1 Peter 4.12-19. If you do have a Bible that's your handout, it'll be on page 1016. So let's just read this passage and consider the truths that are necessary if we are going to ace these pop quizzes in life. So he says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for the judgment to begin at the household of God. If it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteousness is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good." It was a quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii, December 7th, 1941. And so on this day, many naval personnel were on the island, on land, worshiping God in church, doing their normal Sunday activities. The ones who were on duty were taking the day off. I mean, they were just resting, relaxing, shooting the breeze, because guess what? Not a lot of battles go on during Sundays. The other part was, is there was a war going on. But that was across the way. That was far away. And America was not involved in it. So the Navy soldiers think, ah, we don't need to be ready on this day for battle. And so as they're sitting there, and as they're enjoying their day, all of a sudden, they heard planes on the horizon. And for many of them were thinking, oh, there must be some of our naval planes coming in for some reason that it wasn't told to us. And so still not being prepared, not being ready. But then they saw that these weren't fellow or allied planes, these were enemy planes. And so in a matter of hours, there were bombs dropped, there were things destroyed. There were 2,000 people, 2,400 people lost their lives. 18 ships were sank or ran aground in just a moment of hours. Why so much devastation? Why so much? Because it wasn't expected. It was a surprise. And so many times, as believers, just like Pearl Harbor, now it lives in infamy now, but just like the devastation on Pearl Harbor because they weren't prepared, it's the same way the Christian life can be. Is that we can face trials because ultimately we are not prepared. And so hopefully as you've been a part of this study, if you haven't, 1 Peter is just littered with truths about how to live through suffering. And so peers repeated, repeated, repeated. And now he's getting to it and he goes, hey, guess what? Don't be surprised if you fall into trials, into suffering. Don't be surprised and treat it as something that's strange. Like this was unexpected. No, he wants to remind us to ace the trials of life. We always need to be prepared. And so as we go through, we shouldn't be not expecting, we should be expecting trials. And not only trials, in this text it's fiery trials. And so if we consider what a fiery trial, we might think of, okay, this is just an out-of-control flame that's gonna burn up. No, that's not what the intention of what Peter is. When he says fiery trials, he's actually referring to a refining process of what a mineral would go through. And so when he says refining process, it's really a reminder that trials are the process of purification for people who've trusted and live in Christ. And so when we came to salvation, we have a lot of muck, we have a lot of dirt, a lot of things to actually cloud exactly what's been done through us in Christ. And so what God wants to do is He wants to refine. In fact, in Proverbs 27, 21, it says, the crucible is for silver, the furnace is for gold, and man is tested by his praise. So God is using our trials ultimately to conform us more and more in Christ and to take off these layers of sin. And so we should be excited and anticipate what this will bring. Because God is going to test you for two reasons. The first reason is because He wants Christ to be known and He wants people to see Christ. Well, since Christ died and was resurrected, guess who that vehicle is? That's us now. And so as he takes away what's blocking, gives us opportunity to show Christ in our trials, and to uphold, is that he's spreading his word, his message. Of course, the other reason that he wants to do it is for your personal holiness and obedience. And so he's gonna bring you through these tests, these trials, to ultimately help you. You ask, what is the purpose of the fire trials? Exactly what it says, to test you. What you have to remember is that for a trial for a believer, it's ultimately an act of revealing. And so again, we're going to be revealing our character. We're going to reveal what we truly are trusting, what we really are following. And it brings about exactly whether we are following God or following this world. And so we don't see this as a negative thing, but positive things. If we really believe that, then we're gonna see opportunities to help and strengthen us when we do fall into suffering. And so if we can see that purpose and we can hold onto it, our faith will become stronger. Our lives will become stronger. But if we don't, guess what? You will be surprised by the trials and you will find yourself in worry. and anxiousness and find yourself in depression because it takes you off the rails if you're not prepared. So how do we prepare for these pop quizzes of life? First thing that we talk about a lot is that you need to be in your devotions. You need to be taking that personal time each and every day to devote yourself to God. Why is that? Well, you don't know when the trials are coming, so start off well, start off strong, by reading and praying and preparing yourself, even if the big trial doesn't come that day. You need to be prepared each day, so we need to be reading. Second thing is, I encourage you, read, listen, and watch healthy biblical resources. Because this is the thing, if you continually to immerse yourself in God's truth, and you continually hear people who are honoring God's truth, God's gonna help you see areas and be prepared. And so in those truths, you might be listening to something and you're like, I don't need this, this isn't for me, this is for somebody else. Well, you don't know how God's gonna use that truth for future impact in your own life. So hold on, listen, immerse yourself. Another thing is, look both to the good and bad examples of people going through trials. Get that? Look to both the good and bad examples of people going through trials. Like, why do I need to look to the good ones? We were like, okay, yeah, because you're gonna look at their lives and you're gonna see that and you're gonna say, what can I take away and how can I ask questions of this person and say, how are you doing this? And so as they share and as they are opportunity to share God's Word and how it's impacting life, that should help you. But then with the bad examples is that you can learn and discern and say, okay, what does God's Word say differently from how this person is living? Yes, I see this person's life's a mess, but how does God give us instructions so that it doesn't get to that point? The other thing is it gives you opportunity to see how you can help. It might that you might be able to help the person that you're seeing life just fall apart, but it might be somebody in a similar situation that you're gonna be able to bring God's truth that God brings into your path that you can be ready with God's word. So be proactive in your change. Listen to the Holy Spirit through his word and see how he prepares you for trials. Because if we properly prepare for the trial, we'll actually be able to enjoy the trial. We're not going to enjoy the trial because of the pain or the loss associated with it. We're not going to enjoy the trial because of the circumstance necessarily. No, if you are prepared, you can actually enjoy the purpose of the trial. So verse 13 says, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you also may may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. You guys see the repeating word in this? Rejoice. So he's like, hey, rejoice in this trial. Oh yeah, and rejoice again. And even that be glad is another word for rejoice. And so Paul's trying to hit home. You can rejoice. See, we have the opportunity to praise God in trials because we are equipped with a new understanding. You see, what it says is that what we're praising God is in the fact that we get to share in Christ's sufferings. You get that? Look at that in your text. You share Christ's sufferings. And so as you suffer, as you go through it, is that we get to experience the same thing of how Christ endured his trials. We get to experience his strength. We get to experience his comfort. And so when we see those things at work in our life, we can actually rejoice in our endurance. And really what we're doing is we're enjoying and rejoicing in the fullness of the salvation that each of you have been given as believers in Christ. And so don't be wondering, oh, this is so hard. But no, actually find yourself rejoicing. Because the fact is, we're going to suffer. And the reason we're going to suffer is because our Savior suffered. You guys realize that? If you look through the New Testament, even through first Peter, how many times does he point us to and say, suffer because Christ suffered. Suffer because Christ suffered. And so if He suffered for living the truth, then we are also going to suffer for living and speaking the truth. Because as you go through the Gospels, one thing that you see is that many times Christ expended tremendous energy to resist temptation. that was going on. In fact, if you remember in the Garden of Gethsemane that you see Christ who's praying so hard for that the cup of the wrath might be removed that He was at the point of sweating blood. And yet he resisted the temptation to escape and continued to go forward in that. In fact, in Hebrews 12, it mentions that again, is that we never get to resist sin to the point of shedding blood. And what the writer of Hebrews wants to do is, again, point us back to the fact that we need to remember that as bad as it's going to seem to resist and stand firm, it's never going to be as excruciating as Christ standing firm. and being obedient. And so that's one. And then another thing is that we got to remember the outside world. It tortured and killed Christ, His creation, His people. Yet He restrained His power to save the very people who were killing Him. And Jesus invested His life into the disciples. I mean, of all people, right? These guys should get it and they should be thankful. But what happens? When it's time of need and it's time to stand, guess who's the only one standing? That was Christ. His disciples fled. So we gotta be prepared that it might be a lonely journey. But again, we get to share in the sufferings of Christ. Because suffering for Christ is not intended to strip our joy and peace and confidence in God. It is intended to enhance it. Did you get that? Our trials are not intended to strip us of joy, peace, and confidence in Him. It's intended to enhance it. So that means staying firm when the pressure of life increases. So we're going to rejoice more and more because we are experiencing more and more unity and harmony with Him. As we go through is that the more we suffer, the more we will experience the joy of Christ if we're obedient. See, the joy of Christ will actually transcend the darkness of the trial you're in. The joy of Christ actually lifts that immense glow, that immense pressure that happens in trial. And the joy of Christ will ultimately steady you when waves and storms are crashing. You see, as we go through is that we got to be reminded that really persevering through trials will crescendo as you persevere. What do I mean? You guys know what crescendo is? Well, crescendo is oftentimes the place in the song where you start quietly and then it gets louder and louder and louder. And so sometimes that's referred to as the build of the song. And so what we have to do is that oftentimes, that's how rejoicing in trials is, right? The trial's laid on us and guess what? We're not like, yeah, hallelujah. No, what are we doing? Lord, I praise you, your character, you're in this. Father, I don't understand it, and it's hard. And so we get, it starts out quiet. But then as we persevere, and we see the character of Christ, what happens? Praise your God, for you are sufficient, you are my sustainer, you can strengthen me. As life goes, and added and added trials, is that then you can stand higher and say, you see this trial that might be really hard five, 10 years ago, and you stand there like, God, the reason this trial is so easy, or it feels easy, is because of how you've worked in me. But what about the ultimate apex? So when we stand in His glory, when it is revealed to us, And so when we get there, that will experience the full strength, the full loudness, and the ultimate praises, because God, you are amazing, and you have taken me through the hardships of life, and now I understand Christ more than I ever did. We will sing for eternity and rejoice in this. So as you experience the joy, you'll find yourself rejoicing in the trials you experience. And in fact, when you are rejoicing, when you get into trials, it'll be naturally for you to speak of Christ as you go through trials and testifying to Him. But what will happen? Well, in verse 14, it says, if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory of God rests upon you. And so as you go through trials and as you start sharing, guess what? You're gonna get pushback. In fact, if you are insulted, I mean, it does remind us that it may happen, it may not, but the longer you live, the more you talk about Christ and the more you attribute to Him, guess what? You're gonna suffer. Look at Christ. One thing that I often hear is that, well, I'm a servant evangelist, and that's great. But you gotta know what servant evangelism is. Servant evangelism isn't just feeding the poor. It's not just being kind to your neighbor. It's just not loving your kids. No, that's the servant part. But evangelism means you are speaking the gospel as a testimony for the reason you're doing what you're doing. And so if we're going to do that, Guess what? You are going to encounter suffering just like Christ did. Because if you think about it, Christ did a lot of servant things, right? He fed 5,000 people. And what did the people say that were served there? Heck yeah, Christ, this is a good meal. And why'd they come back? I want more, give me more. And so they were good, as long as they were being fed food, right? But when Christ interjects the gospel, saying, I'm the bread of life, they're like, Really? I just want physical food. When you give salvation, they actually get mad and they leave. And then you see the Pharisees, and you see people being healed, and they're like, the Pharisees probably wouldn't have had a problem. Christ just healed everybody. Yeah, go ahead. But what did he say in those healings? He says, your sins are forgiven. And that's what offset. The fact that he used the gospel and testified to the reason of his servanthood ultimately is what brought him suffering. So yes, we need to be ready, but we also need to know that it's not because of how well you're going to tell the gospel, how well you're going to do it. It's ultimately when you live and you testify and give those truths, that that is what can bring insult and pressure. But if we do that, we can sit there with confidence, because it says, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. See, really, this is a word picture back to Matthew 3.16. You guys probably know what Matthew 3.16 might be, is which John the Baptist baptizes Christ, and as Christ comes out of the water, guess what happens? Heavens open up, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, rests on Christ's shoulder. You know what? God the Father says, you are my beloved son with whom I will please. Really this was an affirmation of who Christ is and who he was. And so, as we suffer through trials and as we get insulted in the same way, we can look back to that and be reminded that, you know what? Just as Christ suffered, God sees this and I just wanna be a servant. And He is affirming that you are blessed and He is well pleased with you because of how you're trusting Him and how you're testifying to Him in trials. But if we don't do that, we get verse 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. So when you look at that, murderer, thief, evildoer or criminal or meddler, somebody who's really trying to get out and disrupt society, and we can sit there and go, that's not me. You know what? I'm a pretty quiet guy. I really don't try to stir up trouble. I'm just on the back burner. And so you might not, obviously you guys are here, so most of you are in jail, because most of these would be for jail, right? Punishment. But that's what the labels attribute are things that we commonly wrestle with. Think about what's a murderer motivated by? It's motivated by hate and pride. Then we have the thief. What's the thief motivated by? He sees something he wants, and he takes it at all costs. He doesn't care about anybody else. And so for us, it's that often we see something we want, and we go after it, not caring about God or other people. What about an evildoer? Well, this person just enjoys sin. And some of you are here today, and you're steeped in sin, and you do it because you enjoy it, and you're not repentant of it. As a believer, that should be a clear mark of danger, but as an unbeliever, that should show the wickedness of your heart. And a meta-lawyer, again, just enjoys to see society upside down. And so people, you might be here and all you see is conflict and everything you touch just becomes a disaster. Be careful. You think suffering is happening to me because these other people have something wrong. No, it's because you might be meddling. And so my question to you is, are you caught up in the views or activities that even could be supported by Scripture that actually perpetuate one of these identities and is bringing suffering in your life? Because some of these things that we suffer for or some of the stands we take are good, but how we approach and how we stand for them are actually sinful. So first, as you consider this, don't let anything outside of Christ become your identity. And so many times I'll hear different Christians attest to what their political views are, or their views on abortion, or their views of what sports team they fan, and they take that, and they hold onto it, and that's their identity. But we have to remember the only identity that we're holding on to is Christ. Do our political views, do some of the views and some of the movements happening. Are we going to get behind because we're Christian? Absolutely, because they're perpetuating Christian views. But that's not our identity. So consider, don't let them become your identity. Second, your views and activities should be increasing your compassion for people. Get that? They should be increasing your compassion for people. I love the pro-life movement. I think the stand on the value of life is definitely the stand that God takes on life. Sometimes I sit here and listen. I hear how they put the woman who's getting an abortion in such a bad light. They're insulting her. They make her feel like she's a sinner, which she is, but it's just this weight of condemnation. And what they don't take into account is that that lady who's looking for an abortion probably sees that as her only hope. Life is heavy. Life is tumultuous. And she cannot justify bringing in a human and taking care of a human. And so this is her only way out. But as followers in Christ, we can show her that that is not gonna bring you the hope you're looking for. That the hope is only in Christ. So we should be compassionate, we should be moved. We should, instead of yelling at them or saying that they're worse off sinners than we are, instead we should move with the gospel and be more compassionate to the people on the other side of our views. Third, your views or activities should always increase your opportunities to share the gospel. Because really, as you live out Christ, people should actually be attracted to what you have to say. And so Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, 32-33, Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own revenge, but that of many that they may be saved. So if I was gonna say, hey, I can introduce you to a guy who's kind, who's loving, who's gonna serve you, most people would be like, heck yeah, that'd be my best friend. And that's not just believers, that's also people who don't know the gospel. And so we should be like that, and then when we're presented with opportunities, then we share the gospel. And we can't be rejected for that. But the rejection should not be in the fact that the behavior they see in us, or how evil the sin that comes from it. They should see that Christ is the only way, and they should be offended by Him. Because we are going to suffer enough for representing loving Christ, let's make sure that's what it's about. So lastly, you need to evaluate your involvement in causes and movements or any other activities of life if you're talking more about the cause than you are talking about Christ. I love the men in our church. I have great conversations with them, but sometimes we can default to certain topics like sports. Sports is my big one. I can talk about football 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we can just dive into the nuances and get into that. But if that's all I talk about and Christ is not dominating my conversation, then where am I showing my identity? So we want to make sure that we should examine our conversations, examine our thinking, how often we're thinking about things, and say, are we seeing our identity in Christ, and are we showing that, or are we showing our identity in something else? So you want to let, you want to use every opportunity to represent Christ with your words and actions, because it will require full effort to please and honor him, so do your best. Get that, do your best, that's the third point. Look at this. It says, "...yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." So, Christian is a word that's often tossed around by many people and doesn't have the same connotation it does in this passage. You see, this is first century believers who are experiencing being berated and who are being insulted for the name of Christ. In fact, Christian's not something that a term they developed. It's actually what the world developed to call them as followers of Christ. And it was also often used as a mark and term of beratement, of persecution. And so they were feeling the weight, but he says, don't be ashamed of that. Don't be ashamed. Instead, find joy in being my Christ. Because the fact is, we don't have to be ashamed in front of God anymore. Praise God, right? If you trust in the gospel of Christ, yes, we still have sin. Yes, it's seen by Him, but it's put on Christ, and we get to stand unashamed. But yet, we carry shame into when we testify that to other people. Why? It's because we've elevated other people instead of God. So when we get in those situations, we fail to share the gospel and try to share the gospel in our suffering, because we don't see it as something that will bring good light onto us. So don't be intimidated by it. Share the gospel unashamedly, because ultimately we're unashamed before Him. And do your best in it. Doesn't mean you have all the answers. God just requires to do your best. And then let God be glorified in the way that you share His name. So really that glorify Him, that's ascribing worth to God. So take what your circumstances, take what your trials, and instead of being just self-loathing, project Christ and how He's working in it. Give praise to Him, give honor to Him through your words. Now, doing your best doesn't mean that you get a participation trophy in your life of Christ, okay? So many times people will be like, oh, you know, I'm not studying God's word, I'm not operating God's word, and so they just sort of like have this view that I'm gonna get to heaven, I'll get my participation trophy, I'll get to spend eternity with him. That's not what it is, right? In fact, my kid, Hudson, he just finished up his third year of baseball. First two years he played were T-ball. And T-ball, no score were kept. No stats were really kept. It was just out there to have fun. And when they got to the end of the year, guess what? Everybody got the same trophy. They got the medal for participation. So this year, we had a little bit of a transition. We're moving up in competition, and the standard of judgment rose. So during the regular season, same thing. No scores were really kept. No wins or losses. None of that was kept. But then we got to playoff time. And so in playoff time, now things begin to count. Now, if you're the scores kept, your wins and losses are recorded, and if you don't do a good enough job, guess what? You're out. The standard was that you were gonna make it until you lost, right? And so for the one team who forged through and won the championship, guess what? You got something a little more special as a reward. Everyone got medals, but these people got trophies. And so the standard increased. And then when you get to professional baseball, that standard is the highest standard of all. And so only a few make it. And as a player, the times you're awarded, or as a team, the times you're awarded, especially with a championship, how much greater is that reward? Why? Because the standard is so high. Guess what? God's standard for your life is high. Because when we think that we are to be like Christ, that is the standard of perfection. And so if we're not investing in our life to go to that standard, then guess what? It's going to be hard, and we are going to miss the opportunity. Look in verse 17, it's time for judgment to begin at the household of God. If He begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel? What he's saying is, guess what? All of you sitting here who've followed and obeyed and trusted Christ as your Savior, guess what? It doesn't mean God's standards are like, oh yeah, you got a really high standard. That was your judgment, but now you're in Christ. Oh, we can drop the bar. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is that, guess what? God is going to use this opportunity while you're living to shape and form you through discipline and love and reward. And so he's trying to get you to that standard more and more. And so are you faithful to follow through with that standard? And are you taking this opportunity to persevere through trials? Because the other end of it is the fact the ones who don't obey the gospel of God. Again, gospel is good news. It's actually, salvation is a gift from Him. And what God's asking you to do is trust Him. Trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do that, you'll be saved, and you will be one of the scarce people that are saved according to 18. Just like Noah was a scarce person who was saved from the judgment of God in the flood, we are saved from the judgment of unrighteousness as believers in Christ. So where are you? Are you in that judgment, or is that where you stand right now? Well, let me just encourage you. All you have to do is obey the gospel. What's the gospel? Well, I'll give you three summations of what it looks like to obey the gospel. First, you've got to admit you're a sinner. You've got to see your sins and say, I'm a sinner, forgive me God. All that you can do can never make up for what you've committed. You deserve punishment. Then you have to believe in Christ and Him alone. You have to believe not that he's only a person, that he died. No, you have to trust in him fully that he took the punishment for your personal sin. And then you gotta confess it. You gotta go before the Lord and confess to him that he is your Lord and Savior and your only hope. He is your only hope. If you do those things, you will obey the gospel of God and you will be saved. Praise the Lord. That's what we all hear. And really for everyone, your best is to live like Christ. And so if you don't trust him, you won't be able to. But if you do, like all of us, we can live for him. But it means that you have to trust the teacher. So the last thing is trust the teacher. It says, let us therefore, or let those who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Suffering for according God's will is not a popular topic, right? If I was saying, when I think about God, and think, God, you are bringing pain intentionally into my life, God, how's that good? And it's hard, it's a wrestle, and you could still be wrestling, but think of it like this, is that all of you had fathers or mothers, I'm a father now, and guess what? I intentionally bring pain into my child's life to help them grow. You're like, what a bad dad you are. That's not true, right? If my kid is being rebellious and unkind to other people and I give them a little swat, they'd be like, oh, I'd rather them experience that pain than in 15 years in the future where they're still being unkind and rebellious and go to the jail cell. It's loving for me to give them pain. How about the child who's reaching up to put their hand on the stove? I bet all of you are like, oh, I'll let them do that. No, you grab them out. You say, I told you not to do that. Go in timeout, right? Because you're ultimately protecting them from the pain. Yes, are they going to cry and say, you're such a bad parent? Absolutely. But you prevented them from experiencing the fullness of the pain. God is the same way. You know, we often think God just, you know, He'd bring pain and He just doesn't care. No, He is very, very intentional with the pain because He's only going to do it for what is good and what is for His glory. So what we have to do is we have to entrust our souls to Him. Entrusting really is like putting your money in the bank. Don't you, when you, we deposit our money in the bank, we are trusting that our money will be protected. So when we ultimately get to enjoy it in the future, we're going to trust it's still there. And so when we entrust our souls to Creator, we're saying, there is nothing else that I have except I have to trust you and put it in your hands. And when eternity comes, I'm trusting that when I stand before you, that what you said that you did and what you're promising, I'm going to trust you to that. And God says he will be faithful. In fact, it says that he's a faithful creator. Creator seems destroyed, right? I was expecting a faithful father, wonderful counselor, right? That's what trials, I need that, that portion of God. Why a faithful creator? If we think about what created, yeah, it doesn't mean that we go lay in the stars, look at the stars, and that we look up and say, oh, such beauty, such beautiful trees, such beautiful night. Man, that makes my trials feel much better, right? That's probably not what you're gonna experience, but that's, It does help us be amazed, but the fact is, by pointing to Him as Creator, He's pointing to the fullness of His character when He does create. In fact, I'm going to put some images on the screen for you right now. One is of the sun. The sun is a massive object, and it's powerful. In fact, it is so massive that 1.3 million earths can actually fit within the sun. I don't know about you, but I think the earth is huge. We just went to a trip to Romania. I saw a lot of it. And I only saw a little bit of it. It's huge. And same thing is with, but yet, and so it's powerful. It basically has a hundred billion megaton nuclear bombs exploding every second in it. That's powerful. But yet Genesis 1.6 says God spoke that into creation. And the other part is that He's a precise God. In fact, if you see the other image, it's an atom. So we went from a very large thing to a very small thing. An atom is the smallest particle that makes up what we see, what we are. It's the building block of all creation. It's so intricately designed that electrons, neutrons, protons, they all are functioning together to uphold that. And yet none of that ever falls apart. And so we remember that, you know what? Our God is a precise God. So when you consider that He's powerful and precise when it comes to your trials, is that one thing He's powerful enough that He withholds so much suffering from your life. We see the bits that He actually allows into our life, that one, that He's like, oh, you know what? This person needs it for their good. I want to help them grow. And it's only a piece of that suffering with the immense being held behind. And so we see that He's powerful to withhold and only give us what's necessary. He's precise. It's not like one slips through His fingers like, oh, man, I should give that one back. I didn't mean for them to experience that. They're all a bit late to work. I didn't want them to get in a wreck. No, he allows it. He's precise because he goes, no, this one right here will ultimately help them grow. So what we have to do is be amazed by that character in his work because it is for your good, so trust him. Trust Him and be faithful and obedient to what He has in your life. And that's what it means while doing good. It's always trusting. In fact, trust is the foundation of whether you're going to obey or not. And so my question is, are you going to trust Him and ultimately lead to you doing good? I'm gonna have everybody bow their heads and close their eyes right now. We're gonna sing the same song, closing song we sang last week called Sovereign Over Us. And if you're like me, too often we go sing words, but we don't comprehend what we're singing. So today, I'm just gonna read the words to you and ask you, consider, is this how you are trusting God? Are these your words of praise? It says, there is strength within the sorrow, there is beauty in our tears, and you meet us in our mourning with a love that casts out fear. Is that what you're trusting? As a person who doesn't, hasn't accepted Christ as their Savior, man, what is your morning for? Because only if you trust in God that you can actually find the God who will meet you in that morning. And then you experience this, where we as believers in the gospel of Christ, as you are working and are waiting, sanctifying us. And beyond our understanding, you're teaching us to trust. This is a teaching, this is a classroom. He wants you to trust more in him. It says, you're a wisdom unimagined. Who could understand your ways? Reigning high above the heaven, reaching down in endless grace. That's the God in your trials. That's the God who's fueling you to persevere. You're the lifter of the lowly, compassionate and kind. You surround and you uphold me and your promises are my delight. Are His promises your delight? Is that what you find yourself consumed with? Or you look into the world and find yourself in depression, anxiety? The chorus is, your plans are still to prosper. You've not forgotten us. You are with us in the fire and the flood. Faithful forever, perfect in love. You are sovereign over us. Are you entrusting yourself to that God? To the God that's spoken in Scripture? Because today you can. So if you don't know Christ as your Savior, I pray, I pray that you will take this moment and trust your soul to Him. As a believer, that we will continually to step and trust and to obey Him. Father, I just thank you again for today, and I thank you for your Word, and just the amazing complexity that it is. Father, there's so much information that even today, we only scratch the surface with a few verses. and we got in a little debt. So Father, I pray, I pray as we go through this week and through this time that we will just have more and more confidence in you, that we will trust you as our creator, as our savior, as our Lord. Just be amazed by what you do in our sufferings as we share in the sufferings of Christ. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.