And from 1 Peter 4, verses 12-19, I want to preach a message entitled, Suffering for Christ in a God-honoring way. Suffering for Christ in a God-honoring way. 1 Peter 4, beginning in verse 12. Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says 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. 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. 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. Having read our text, I want to point out here at the beginning of my sermon, Peter's back and forth declarations between how Christians should live out their faith before God and others, and how Christians should suffer. From 1 Peter chapter 2 to the end of 1 Peter chapter 4, there is this interwoven connectedness concerning how God would have us to live in every sphere of life and how God would have us respond to the trials and troubles that we meet with in life. And interestingly enough, interwoven within these two themes is the repetitive mentioning of submission to others in the midst of our suffering. For instance, in verses 1-18 of 1 Peter chapter 2, Peter exhorts his readers on how to live as holy strangers and pilgrim in an unholy world in submission to ruling authorities, and he takes that and fuses those exhortations on how to suffer like Christ suffered. And then turning the chapter from chapter 2 to chapter 3, in the first half of 1 Peter chapter 3, Peter provides practical instructions on how wives are to live out their faith before their husbands, and how husbands are to dwell with the wife that God has given to them, which then leads into practical instructions on how Christ suffered. And then in 1 Peter chapter 4, we have practical instructions on how Christ suffered, which then leads Peter into writing on how we ought to live in the light of the end, how God would have us to love and serve the brethren, and how we can be good stewards of the gift that God bestows. And then connected with this, Peter interconnects once again directives on how Christians ought to suffer. Do you see it? Over the last several weeks, we've gone from seeing the need to be charitable among ourselves, to showing hospitality among ourselves, to using various gifts God has given for others. And now in verse 12, we are back to the topic of suffering. So, we go from practical exhortations about the Christian life, to suffering, to practical instructions, to suffering, to practical instructions, to suffering. Now, in your initial reading of the epistle, you might think that Peter is just being a little sporadic, and he's just randomly mentioning these things as he thinks about it. But I would remind you that Peter's words are not Peter's words alone. They are God's words being inspired and spoken through Peter. Peter tells us in 2 Peter that holy men of God or they wrote the Scripture as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Paul says in 2 Timothy, all Scripture has been given to us by inspiration of God. And we know in the reading of Scripture that God does not do anything by accident or mistake. God is a God of order, not chaos. Which means then that even the arrangement of truth being given in scripture, God is speaking a lesson to us. And I'm under the persuasion that God wants us to recognize that our living for Christ in every aspect of life and our suffering for Christ are interconnected. Let me put it this way. Living for Christ will bring suffering. And how we suffer will demonstrate whether or not we are properly living for Christ. Let me say it again. Living for Christ will bring suffering. All those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Living for Christ will bring suffering. And how we suffer will demonstrate whether or not we are properly living for Christ. Do you see the relationship between these two things? Living for Christ and suffering are not two disconnected activities. We do not live out our faith before others and then go off into the backwoods, or I should say the backside of the desert, to suffer. We live out our faith before others while suffering for Christ with the right attitude. before others. Our testimony for Christ is unified within both. If you do what God expects of you horizontally before men, but you suffer inwardly with a bitter attitude, you're not doing the will of God. And on the contrary, you can suffer joyfully at home by yourself, while ignoring to do what God expects of you to do, living out your faith before men, and likewise, you're not doing the will of God. We need to do both. We need to serve others and suffer right. We need to know how God would have us to live in the outworking of our faith, and we need to know how God would have us to respond when others treat us wrongly. And this is the whole of the law. This is the essence of the Christian faith. We need to make sure that we're living right, first and foremost, before God, and we need to make sure that we're living right before men. And I think connected with this point is the need for suffering Christians to remember that the entire focus of their lives should not be on their sufferings. Why does Peter go back and forth from practical exhortation to suffering to practical exhortation to suffering because in the whole of the epistle he is showing that life is not all about your suffering. I believe the back and forth mentioning of these things shows us that we ought not to sit around at home pouting about the problems that have come across our path. Why? Because there's work to be done in Christ's kingdom. Jesus said, the night is coming when no man can work. So while it is day, We must work the works of Him who sent us. We must put our hand to the plow and not look back. We are to be soldiers fighting a good fight of faith. We are spiritual farmers planting and watering the seeds of faith. There's no time to feel sorry for ourselves. So rather than sit at home and whine, we need to put on the armor of God. and be the husbands and the wives God has called us to be. That's what Peter is getting at. Rather than focusing on ourselves and our issues, we need to be the employees God would have us to be before our lost employers. Rather than pouting, God wants us to be the citizens, the nation that we live in. and the church members God wants us to be. This is why Peter is going back and forth from 1 Peter chapter 2 to 1 Peter chapter 4. He says, I know you're suffering. I can see it. We don't deny that. But in your suffering, you are called to live for Christ. So live in this way. Be holy in all manner of conversation. Love your spouse as Christ loved the church. Do what God wants you to do. Take up a towel and serve one another. Don't focus on your life and your problems. Focus on loving God and loving others. That's the context. 1 Peter chapter 4. So that being said, as we zoom in on verses 12 through 19 this morning, I want us to see that God through Peter provides us with six practical commands that are meant to encourage believers to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way. And within these eight verses, I see three negative commands interwoven with three positive commands. Six command total. Three negative, three positive. And because they are not given to us in subsequent order, I want to begin by listing the negative commands so that we end on a positive note, as Peter does in the text. So how can we suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way? That's the question. That's the lesson. How can we, in this world filled with sin and problems, suffer in a way that glorifies God? Point number one, Peter tells us in verse 12, don't be surprised. That's point number one. Don't be surprised, beloved. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. Now, why does Peter say this? He says this because this is precisely our natural response to trials. Our natural response to trials is, this is strange. Why is this happening to me? Why is God allowing this to occur? How is any good going to come of it? And why do I feel like I'm the only one going through what I'm going through? Do you see how timeless and relevant the Bible is? Do you see how it speaks directly to our problems with such accuracy? It's almost as if the author of the Bible knows something about us. Peter says, when you encounter instances of suffering for your faith in Christ, don't be amazed at it. Don't be shocked. Don't be shaken. Don't think that it's something unusual, because Jesus has told us that such things would come if we live for Him. Remember, Jesus says, in this world ye shall have tribulation. Jesus says, If you follow me, you will be hated of all men for my namesake. If the world has hated me, then you better know that it will hate you too. The servant is not greater than his Lord. So you think it's strange that others would verbally slander you for your faith in Christ? You think it's strange that others would hate you for doing what is holy and good? You think it's strange that your family members want nothing to do with you because you desire to seek first the kingdom of Christ and His righteousness? Peter says, you're thinking that it is strange is strange. That's strange thinking. You're thinking that this is strange. Don't be tempted to think it strange. Why? Because Jesus has already told us such things would be. So there's command number one. In your times of affliction, in your times of suffering for the sake of Christ, in your times of trial, think it not strange. And then command number two. If you want to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way, Peter says in verse 15, don't be sinful. Don't be sinful. Notice verse 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 matter. This is quite an unusual statement of Peter. And the meaning of this is, if you're suffering because others have hurt you in some way, you better make sure that you do not react to their evil deeds in a sinful way. Remember what Mama used to tell us? Mama used to say, two wrongs don't make a right. Whether Mama recognized her or not, she was speaking Bible truth. Peter is teaching us that it's possible during times of suffering, especially during those times when we suffer from harmful things done to us personally, to take matters into our own hands, and in so doing, we become evildoers ourselves. Listen, Moses was guilty of this when he killed an Egyptian for hurting a fellow Hebrew, remember? By busying himself in other men's matter and acting like a judge over the wrong that was being done to the Hebrew people by the Egyptians, Moses gave the Egyptians reason to accuse him of wrongdoing. And this is exactly what Peter is saying. Peter is saying, when you suffer, Be sure that you don't become guilty of what others accuse you to be. Whether as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a busybody in other men's matter. Shall I explain this more thoroughly? Don't busy yourself on what does not concern you. Don't go around gossiping. Well, someone says something mean to me, now I have to go around the church and tell everybody about it. Well, someone hurt me in some way, now I have to ask everyone to pray for me and pray for that person. I'm not gossiping, I'm just asking for prayer. See my angelic halo? Peter's saying it's foolish to set yourself up as a rebellious Christian martyr. So someone says, you'll never believe what happened to me the other day. I was in Stater Brothers waiting in line and I saw the juicy fruit bubble gum just tempting me. I just had to have it. So I did this sort of thing, look left, look right. And I took it, I put it in my pocket. And the person behind me saw what I did. And you would never guess in your life, they started yelling at me and cussing at me. Oh, they hurt my feelings. I need you to pray for me. I'm being martyred for my faith in Christ. I'm going through such a hard time this week. I don't know how I'm going to endure it. that none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as the busybody in other men's matter. You've been hurt. Don't take the hurt done to you on others in a hurting way. You've been hurt. Don't take out the hurt done to you on others in your hurting. Hurt people sometimes hurt people. Be careful. Shall I bring it closer to home? This means, Christians, we should not wish for abortionists to die and go to hell because they're killing babies. I've heard Christians say, I just wish that God would call down fire and destroy them and send them to the lake of fire right now. Was that Jesus' response on the cross? Or did Jesus say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do? Or how about fiercely hating the LGBT community? Because they're flaunting their sin in the face of God. Or becoming nasty to your neighbor who's a Democrat because they disagree with you on political and moral issues. I know I'm meddling now. Peter's saying you can't live sinfully towards such people you disagree with. It's not Christian. If you are to be a light for Christ, you must not give way to sinful thoughts, sinful words, and sinful deeds in your suffering. If you want to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way, don't be sinful. Command number three, verse 16. If you want to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way, don't be shame-faced. Don't be shame-faced. Don't be ashamed. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. And I can't help but think that Peter is speaking from personal experience here. Remember, Peter was pressed by the world, whether or not he was a disciple of Jesus Christ, Aren't you the disciple who's been following this so-called Messiah for these three years? Yeah, I can tell by your speech that you are such the man. And Peter said, no, it's not me. No, it's not me. No, it's not me. He began to even curse and to swear that it wasn't him. What caused Peter to crumble? He became ashamed of being a Christian. He became ashamed of holding forth. the light of truth. And Peter is saying in this text, don't do what I have done. You'll lose opportunity to witness for Christ. If any of you suffer as a Christian, listen, don't be embarrassed by it. Who needs to be embarrassed by being the son of the king of kings and lord of lords? Who needs to be embarrassed by being a follower of the creator of all things? Don't let the fear of man decrease your stance for Christ. You are on the winning side. Be like Paul when he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it's the power of God and the salvation to everyone who believes. Or be like Job when he said, but he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. I'm not ashamed of suffering for God's sake. I'm not ashamed. Three negative commands given by Peter regarding how we can respond to our sufferings. Number one, don't be surprised. Number two, don't be sinful. Number three, don't be shamed face. Now, looking now to the three positive commands, jumping back to verse 13, Peter tells us that during times of suffering, it's vital that we rejoice. Rejoice. Positive command number one, verse 13. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happen 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. And this exhortation of Peter is exactly what Jesus told his followers to do in his Sermon on the Mount discourse. Remember, Jesus said, Blessed, happy are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed, happy, joyful are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake. Rejoice, Jesus says, and be exceeding glad. Why? For great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. So how is it that we can rejoice during times of persecution? We can rejoice in the fact that our names are written in heaven. We can rejoice in the fact that we are partakers of Christ's suffering. We can rejoice in the fact that God's Spirit in those times of suffering will comfort, strengthen, and encourage us as we abide in Christ. Listen, we can rejoice that nothing shall separate us from the love which is in Christ Jesus. We can rejoice that while men may be able to kill our bodies, they cannot destroy our souls. Do you want to know how you ought to respond to your trials? Verse 16 tells us that we ought to glorify God in the midst of them. There are the positives. Instead against the negatives, Peter is saying, don't spend your time and energy worrying and fretting and being surprised and sinning and being ashamed. Rather, spend your time and energy rejoicing, worshiping and glorifying God. In other words, get the focus off of yourself and your problems and fix them on God. As you gaze upon the Eternal One, your problems will just melt away. And our problem is, we focus on our problems while God is over there, and so we think that God is distant. But I'm telling you, as we gaze upon the Sovereign One, as we truly sit at His feet, hearing from Him, all of our problems become smaller and smaller. It's not that they disappear. but they seem so weak compared to this great and mighty God that we know. This is what Paul told the church in Philippi. In the book of Philippians, Paul is suffering for his faith. He's been arrested for preaching Christ as Christ told him to do. And he's encouraging other believers in Philippi, mind you, this city that is pagan to the core, who doesn't want anything to do with the Christian faith. He's telling these dear believers to rejoice. And again, he says, rejoice! You have reason to rejoice. So there's positive command number one. If you want to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way, you need to rejoice. Positive command number two, if you want to suffer for Christ in a God honoring way, you need to remember. You need to remember. Why do we need to remember? Because what we believe in our heads will affect our actions. Remember, look at verses 17 and 18. There are two truths that Peter wants us to remember. He wants us to remember first that judgment begins at the house of God, and second, that there is a time coming when God will judge the wicked. Verse 17, for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God, among God's people. And if it first begin at us, speaking of Christians, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel, unbelievers? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? And what Peter is saying here is, though fiery trials may be upon God's people now in a positive, purifying sense, there is coming a time in which the wicked will endure the fire of God's eternal judgment. He is saying, now is our time of fiery trial, but the ungodly will have their fire later. That's the contrast, that's the comparison. Though there may be fire now for believers, there will be peace later. And though it seems that the wicked are prospering, living in peace now, God promises that their candle will one day be put out. So Peter's saying, remember this, lest you become discouraged. Call this truth to your mind. Put everything in its eternal perspective as you look at the world, as you look at politicians, as you look at evil men increasing in evil sins, as you rub shoulders with unjust masters. That's the context of 1 Peter. As you see governing authorities, remember, remember, Judgment begins at the house of God. God is purifying us. God is causing us to learn things in our suffering for his namesake. And remember, there's coming a time when the eternal judge will judge the wicked. He sees it all. He knows it all. Remember, God will not be mocked. Whatsoever man shows, that shall he also reap. Vengeance belongs to God. God will repay in His own way and in His own time. So we're tempted to get a little out of sorts when we watch the local news and we see our nation being given to wickedness, lies, and cheating, and every sin under the sun. Peter says in your times of suffering, just remember who is seated on the throne Remember what he's promised to do in Revelation. He's coming. And his sword will be in his hand. He will save his sheep. And he will execute the goats. And then command number three. Command number three is to roll. To keep with the alliterated R's and my positive points. Rejoice. Remember. and then roll. Unless you think I'm being cute or stretching things in my desire for alliteration, I would have you notice in verse 19 that this is exactly what Peter is commanding believers to do. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him and well-doing as unto a faithful creator. The word commit here is the word for roll. Not roll, but roll. To commit yourself to God is to cast yourself upon Him fully. Psalm 37.5, commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. Proverbs 16.3, commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established. This word for commit is the synonymous term for the word cast. Psalm 55, 22, cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 1 Peter 5, 7, we'll get there soon. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Remember, Peter's a fisherman. He's used to casting. He takes the net. He doesn't hand it over partway over the boat. No, he casts it. So Peter the fisherman is saying, take all your worries, your anxieties, your troubles, your fears, and cast them completely on the Lord. God's inviting us to roll our problems, our burdens, our anxiety onto Him, the One who can bear it. Delegate your worries unto the Good Shepherd. I like what Martin Luther says. He says, we need to pray and let God worry. Now, God doesn't worry, but that's the point of the quote. In our praying, we ought not to worry, In our praying, we have to commit our cause to God and let Him worry about it. And that's what prayer is in its essence. And burning our heart before God and saying, Lord, I can't, but you can. This is what we must do when we suffer for righteousness sake. We don't take matters into our own hands. We don't fight evil with evil. We don't become ashamed of our faith and turn our back on God. We don't become bitter toward the lost world who needs Christ. We rejoice, we remember, and we roll. Shall we put it in elementary terms? Stop, drop, and roll. Truly, stop and rejoice. Drop on your face in prayer and remember. to roll your problems on the one who is sovereign over all. What did you learn in church today? The pastor said, during times of fiery trials, see the correlation? In times of fire, stop, drop, roll. Rejoice. Remember. Roll. And when we do this, we will find that we are responding. Just like Jesus did. Remember, it was Jesus who said. On the cross into thy hands. Do I commit my spirit? Remember, before that it was Jesus in the garden. Who fell on his face before the father and said. Lord, if it's possible, let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not what I will. but what you will. Remember, Jesus could have called down legions of angels to defeat his enemies. Jesus could have harmed those who were harming him. But instead, he committed the keeping of his soul to the faithful creator. Listen, Jesus could respond in this humble, gracious way because in the darkest hour of his life, His heart was already in tune with the will of God. Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, Jesus submitted the keeping of His soul to the Father. And this is the only way any of us will be able to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way. The way to suffer rightly is through the submitting of ourselves into God's keeping. And to recognize that He is a faithful creator, As a faithful creator, guess what? He does all things well. Six exhortations given so that we might know how to suffer for Christ in a God-honoring way. Number one, don't be surprised. Number two, don't sin. Number three, don't be shame-faced. Number four, rejoice. Number five, remember. Number six, roll. Are you suffering for Christ in some way this morning? Take these points of Peter and be a doer of God's word and not a hearer only. And let me ask those of you who are here this morning, who are without God and without hope, those of you who don't know Christ savingly, let me ask you, please think about this. If you don't have Christ during times of trial and suffering, what hope do you have? What joy do you have? What satisfaction do you have? How do you respond to your troubles if you don't have Christ? I'll tell you how most unbelievers respond to their troubles. They run to alcoholic drinks. They run to drugs. They run to sexual activities. They run to human relationships that think they can find satisfaction in. And in so doing, they only become more and more empty, more and more empty. So if you are here this morning without Christ, I urge you now today to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says, you shall be saved. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Listen, you may be here this morning among those that Peter talks about, whom God will show judgment to one day. And I'm warning you to flee now from that coming judgment. Flee now from fellowshiping with the ungodly, because in due time, The King will come and he will judge sinners for their unbelief. These things are serious. These are eternal matters. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. And if you've been here today suffering and you're suffering in a wrong way, in a fleshly way, in a sinful way, You need to bring it before the Lord, you need to repent, and you need to ask God for grace and help so that you might respond to your troubles in a God-honoring way.