SPEAKER_01: The apostle Peter was born with his foot in his mouth.
SPEAKER_01: Rash and outspoken, he was ready to fight at a moment's notice.
SPEAKER_01: One time, he actually cut a dude's ear off.
SPEAKER_01: He was brave and he was a coward.
SPEAKER_01: Peter was a contradiction.
SPEAKER_01: He walked on water with Jesus, he healed the sick, and gave sermons to thousands.
SPEAKER_01: And after his worst moment, when he had abandoned Jesus, he was restored by his loving Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus actually gave him the name Peter, which means rock.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter was stubborn like a rock.
SPEAKER_01: As he grew old, the stubborn Jesus follower gained wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: Wisdom which he shared with God's church in his letters.
SPEAKER_01: He was still imperfect, but God used him.
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't that give you hope too?
SPEAKER_01: To know this very flawed man with a foul mouth was used by God in powerful ways.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's words come from a man who soaked up the presence of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: A man covered in the dust kicked up by his teacher's sandals.
SPEAKER_01: His letters are challenging and must be wrestled with until we fully understand.
SPEAKER_01: Peter was a contradiction.
SPEAKER_01: Peter suffered, betrayed his best friend, embarrassed himself, and eventually grew into a wise teacher.
SPEAKER_01: If you are sometimes abrasive, sinful, or broken, you'll find hope and solace in Peter's words.
SPEAKER_01: They echo the heart of Jesus and they challenge us to suffer well, stand up for goodness, and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So open your Bibles, open your mind, and let's learn together as we continue in our series, Peter the Rock.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, so about the same.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be in 1 Peter 4 12.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 4 12.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 4 12 is a text that I know already.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's one that I feel, it's one that like when somebody is talking about something, I'll say, oh, we need to go to 1 Peter 4.
SPEAKER_00: Um so I'm I'm ex I'm I'm I am excited to talk to you about this because I feel like we have a difficult understanding of suffering in the church.
SPEAKER_00: And uh I'm excited to get there.
SPEAKER_00: So we have Bibles.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a nice Bible, we would love to give you a Bible.
SPEAKER_00: We have them in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and uh Haitian Crayol.
SPEAKER_00: And uh the English ones are actually study Bibles.
SPEAKER_00: So if you don't have a good study Bible, let us give you one.
SPEAKER_00: Put your name on it, read it.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, so I've actually preached this text before you guys.
SPEAKER_00: Um I preached it in a backyard in South Crest.
SPEAKER_00: Um South Crest uh area, which is also known as Shelltown.
SPEAKER_00: I did not know why it was called Shelltown until we had a drive by and I was kicking shells like in the actual like community we were in.
SPEAKER_00: Um when I preached this text, this backyard was so it would be like you guys would be looking at me in a backyard, sitting in chairs, and behind you was the street.
SPEAKER_00: And um as I preached this text, as I was literally reading this text, there were these drug dealers in our community that did not like us being there.
SPEAKER_00: And um a lot of times they'd show up, rev their engine a couple times on their motorcycles, and then um people would show up.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like uh the ice cream man, you know, like he shows up with a song and you come get so um when I was preaching, they showed up, and as I was actually reading this text, they started revving over me.
SPEAKER_00: And I gotta tell you, like my wife is there looking at me with her back to the street, like uh what?
SPEAKER_00: She was so afraid, she told me later.
SPEAKER_00: She said she was praying, and I just kept reading the text as loud as I could.
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, and so when I think of this text, it's more like it hits me in the gut in a deeper way.
SPEAKER_00: That's not my gut.
SPEAKER_00: This is my gut.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so like I'm excited to preach this text, but I also know whenever I'm preaching on something, it's usually something God's like trying to teach me about already.
SPEAKER_00: So that means uh, as today is about suffering, um I I am well acquainted with grief at times.
SPEAKER_00: So um the thing is, is if you're trying to take ground for God in His in the devil's space, the devil is gonna fight back and push back.
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, we felt like the devil was pushing back because we were literally reading the Word of God and having someone try to drown it out.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but even in those moments, God was glorified.
SPEAKER_00: The words on the pages of the Bible came alive in a totally new way to me.
SPEAKER_00: We felt like we were sitting there in the middle of God's will, and we were suffering and we were receiving pushback from guys that we knew were packing.
SPEAKER_00: It was beautiful, and let me just add this.
SPEAKER_00: I also hated it, if we can be honest.
SPEAKER_00: So, can I read to you in our text 1 Peter 4?
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 4.
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 4 12.
SPEAKER_00: Dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
SPEAKER_00: If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
SPEAKER_00: Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.
SPEAKER_00: But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in having that name.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of the few places in the Bible we see the term Christian, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household.
SPEAKER_00: And if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
SPEAKER_00: And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of an ungodly, um what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
SPEAKER_00: So then, let those of us who suffer according to God's will.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'll say it again.
SPEAKER_00: Let those of us who suffer according to God's will entrust ourselves to a faithful creator while doing what is good.
SPEAKER_00: This is God's word, will you pray with me?
SPEAKER_00: Father, we know we should like want to suffer for you, and we should want to suffer like you, um, but we but we don't want to.
SPEAKER_00: You're awesome, but without your help, we're just this shoddy impersonation of you.
SPEAKER_00: Our strength in our own power is just fake feeling at times.
SPEAKER_00: Our our strength in our own power is like the Timu version of you.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, though, Lord, would you give us strength and endurance today so we can run the race you've set before us?
SPEAKER_00: Help us to cast aside all the things and the sins that might slow us down and help us to hold on to each other as we seek to do your impossible things.
SPEAKER_00: We want to do impossible things with you.
SPEAKER_00: Wonderful things, world-changing things, and we know that they require discipline and unity and suffering.
SPEAKER_00: We can do none of these things without your spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Please give us a tangible sense of your spirit at work in our hearts today, in our homes and in our church.
SPEAKER_00: And would you help us to learn how to suffer well?
SPEAKER_00: We love you.
SPEAKER_00: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of our hearts be pleasing to you.
SPEAKER_00: We pray this all in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: And all God's people said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So if you've been with us any amount of time for this newer series, it's not that new anymore, you'll know that God calls us to be strangers in this world, to be refugees, to be curious, odd people in this world.
SPEAKER_00: When the world values power and selfishness, we are to be different.
SPEAKER_00: We fight for the rights of others.
SPEAKER_00: We value everyone, even if they seem impossible to love at times.
SPEAKER_00: And as you've already seen, we suffer.
SPEAKER_00: That's a curious thing to aspire to, isn't it, friends?
SPEAKER_00: But we don't grieve like those who have no hope.
SPEAKER_00: We may be down at times, but with God's Holy Spirit in us, we are a wellspring of hope.
SPEAKER_00: So today I'm going to give you three points on Christian suffering.
SPEAKER_00: And our first point is this following God demands suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Following God demands suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want to suffer, but we have to understand that if our Savior suffered, we're going to suffer.
SPEAKER_00: And that's okay.
SPEAKER_00: So he says in verse 12, dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes upon you to test you, as if something odd were happening to you.
SPEAKER_00: And then in verse 19, at the end of our text, he says, So then let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful creator while doing what is good.
SPEAKER_00: If this isn't like a little painful for you, just wait.
SPEAKER_00: If this isn't a little hard to understand for you, just wait.
SPEAKER_00: You haven't experienced that kind of suffering yet.
SPEAKER_00: But Christians should not be surprised when we are suffering, we should expect it.
SPEAKER_00: And at times we will suffer according to God's will.
SPEAKER_00: We will suffer according to God's will.
SPEAKER_00: But if God is trustworthy, then we can trust Him in our suffering.
SPEAKER_00: And I know some of you have experienced some really terrible things in the room.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to tell you, this is not like just a blanket statement about every bit of suffering in your life, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Like there is suffering according to God's will, and then there's other stuff.
SPEAKER_00: So just, you know, don't take this as a statement that means every single thing that I've I've endured at the hands of others is from God, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Like, but there is suffering according to God, okay?
SPEAKER_00: So notice that difference.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk for a second about social media.
SPEAKER_00: It's propagating a certain type of preaching.
SPEAKER_00: And and here's the thing: when you get something that uh tells you exactly what you want to hear, that's the kind of social media you want to share.
SPEAKER_00: When you get something that has no nuance, that is also the type of social media we will share.
SPEAKER_00: But this is nuanced and this is not what we want to hear.
SPEAKER_00: The thing is, is there is this health and wealth gospel that is on social media telling you this is what God wants for you.
SPEAKER_00: God wants you to be happy and healthy and blessed.
SPEAKER_00: But that's health and wealth.
SPEAKER_00: We call that the prosperity gospel.
SPEAKER_00: For those of you who belong to Jesus, yes, he does want to bless you.
SPEAKER_00: Please don't mishear me.
SPEAKER_00: But I have to tell you this God does not have the same idea of blessing you as you have.
SPEAKER_00: And when you give money to the church or others, God is not going to always bless you with more money.
SPEAKER_00: Can you believe a pastor up front telling you this?
SPEAKER_00: When you give money to the church, God will not always bless you with more money.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing in the Bible that that says that for a fact, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Um He might just give you freedom from money.
SPEAKER_00: Uh and you might miss a payment because of it, and you might owe more money.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the kind of blessing we want, is it?
SPEAKER_00: When we hear this is your season, oh my gosh, we never consider winter.
SPEAKER_00: We never consider that winter, though, is a season of rain.
SPEAKER_00: Winter rain can be depressing and a struggle, but it brings flowers in the spring, right?
SPEAKER_00: Now we may be in this winter of our discontent, but God may be blessing you in it for later, drawing you to Himself, making you stronger, making you resilient, and giving you hope.
SPEAKER_00: You may find that it's easier for you to get out of bed now because of suffering than because of all the good things that have happened in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Don't believe me?
SPEAKER_00: We should talk about our heroes in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: If you read this book, oh my gosh, do you know how how much suffering is in this book by people who follow God exactly?
SPEAKER_00: Do you know how many prophets like made it?
SPEAKER_00: Like to an old age?
SPEAKER_00: You know how many prophets were like uh abused and mistreated?
SPEAKER_00: Like all of us love the idea of being a prophet.
SPEAKER_00: We don't love the idea what happened to prophets, do we?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's talk about the twelve disciples, the students of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We know that there was one who killed himself because he betrayed Jesus, but then we know that there was twelve more, they added another one.
SPEAKER_00: Beyond one of them who was sent to an island to live for the rest of his life, they were all murdered.
SPEAKER_00: So whenever anyone's like, if you follow Jesus, you'll be blessed, it's like they were blessed and they were murdered.
SPEAKER_00: Like, all right, good talk, Pastor.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering for following Jesus was something Peter knew and understood at this point.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's how the apostle Paul describes some of his suffering in 2 Corinthians 11.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you watch SpongeBob, it's not the like eyelashes, it's the the whip.
SPEAKER_00: And forty minus one, forty was the number of lashes, the number of whippings that you were thought to receive to kill you, which is why they would give you thirty-nine.
SPEAKER_00: So five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
SPEAKER_00: Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked.
SPEAKER_00: I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
SPEAKER_00: I have been constantly on the move.
SPEAKER_00: I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, in danger from false believers.
SPEAKER_00: I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep.
SPEAKER_00: I have known hunger and thirst and have gone without food.
SPEAKER_00: I have been cold and naked.
SPEAKER_00: Beside everything else, I face the daily pressure of my concern for all the churches.
SPEAKER_00: Who is weak and I do not feel weak?
SPEAKER_00: Who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn?
SPEAKER_00: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
SPEAKER_00: So here is Paul, you're like one of your guys, right?
SPEAKER_00: And you're like, This is my season, and it's like, this was Paul's season.
SPEAKER_00: This was Paul's season of great fruit to the churches.
SPEAKER_00: For those of you who are not Christians, though, you may ask this question, and it's a good question.
SPEAKER_00: Why would I want to be a part of a faith tradition that demands radical sacrifice and sometimes excruciating suffering and even death?
SPEAKER_00: But here's the real question I think you should ask.
SPEAKER_00: How is Jesus so good that his followers are able to willingly suffer to the point of death and still walk forward in faith and abounding joy?
SPEAKER_00: That is the question we must ask today, friends.
SPEAKER_00: See, Christians, don't be surprised when you suffer, but you'll find Jesus there with you in the pain.
SPEAKER_00: He understands unlike anyone else, and he gives his spirit to encourage and help us navigate even the hardest moments with unshakable hope.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yes, so I gave you an example of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I gave you an example of his students and Paul, but how about the sweet description in Hebrews 11?
SPEAKER_00: I gotta give you one more.
SPEAKER_00: Of many, many faithful believers, here's here's another biblical uh uh description of faithful believers.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 11, 35.
SPEAKER_00: Women receive their dead, raised back to life.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, amen.
SPEAKER_00: See?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, but but we gotta keep going.
SPEAKER_00: Dang it.
SPEAKER_00: Other people were tortured, not accepting release so that they might gain a better resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: Others experienced mockings and scourgings as well as bonds and imprisonment.
SPEAKER_00: They were stoned, they were sodden too, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated.
SPEAKER_00: The world was not worthy of them.
SPEAKER_00: They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
SPEAKER_00: All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God has provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.
SPEAKER_00: So guys, suffering, yes.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering, yes, but the world is not worthy of this suffering.
SPEAKER_00: We have Jesus with us.
SPEAKER_00: So if belonging to Jesus means we share in his suffering and death, we will have to trust that suffering is part of the process, and we have to trust that God is good and God is still for us.
SPEAKER_00: And if God is for us, who can truly be against us?
SPEAKER_00: Well, apparently a lot of people, and yet there is only one who matters.
SPEAKER_00: Our good and loving God.
SPEAKER_00: There are plenty of people who will stand in the pulpit and tell you that life with Jesus is easy, but man, that is not love to tell you that.
SPEAKER_00: Faith is a battle at times, it is a fight.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I feel like I gotta grab a hold of Jesus and I'm like, I'm not letting you go till you bless me because I'm struggling.
SPEAKER_00: It's painful, but I've also noticed that the best things in life are often very costly, are they not?
SPEAKER_00: Haven't you noticed that?
SPEAKER_00: Like, rarely is something good without sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want a surgeon working on my child who hasn't worked for a million hours at their craft.
SPEAKER_00: Do you?
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't want a lawyer defending me who spent their college years just like having fun at like parties.
SPEAKER_00: No, I want that lady who suffered through books and books and books of case law.
SPEAKER_00: The best things are costly.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I even like my tattoos better because they're costly.
SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't know what that movie was called, but there's some movie where you like get into a machine and it's like and like you have a tattoo all of a sudden.
SPEAKER_00: So everybody in the movie has tattoos, and I'm like, yeah, of course they do.
SPEAKER_00: They don't hurt.
SPEAKER_00: But tattoos actually hurt, they're costly.
SPEAKER_00: Is it weird that I like them better because they're painful?
SPEAKER_00: Like, I like my tattoos better because they're painful.
SPEAKER_00: Here's why.
SPEAKER_00: Let me explain.
SPEAKER_00: And let me say this they're not just painful, they're very painful, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, some of you have tattoos, and any of you who has that tattoo that took 10 minutes and, like, oh, I get it, stop it.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, that's a lot of you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but here's the thing, guys.
SPEAKER_00: They are very painful, and you have to really care about putting something on your body if you're gonna endure the suffering to get it.
SPEAKER_00: Now, some of you are like, I don't like tattoos, that's okay.
SPEAKER_00: Just think of this idea, okay?
SPEAKER_00: But honestly, it it I really like that I even have this tattoo because there's times when I'll see somebody who kind of feels like they're gonna mess with my family, and I swear, just even having a tattoo shows them that I got a pain tolerance, that I can handle some pain.
SPEAKER_00: Like for me, like I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER_00: Like, it's like this like when a boy who likes my kind, intelligent, beautiful daughter, um, I want that boy to think this.
SPEAKER_00: If that man can sit in a chair and take intense pain for over four hours at a time for weeks, maybe I should be careful with him.
SPEAKER_00: If that man can take 30 plus hours of intense pain to put his faith on his arm, he might be someone I don't want to mess with.
SPEAKER_00: And he's right.
SPEAKER_00: Because he should treat her like a princess.
SPEAKER_00: And and what he doesn't know is that um I, you know, I cry at like Coco and finding Nemo like every time.
SPEAKER_00: But but guys, costly things sometimes show that it's a good thing.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the kingdom of heaven is like a rare coin.
SPEAKER_00: I have a friend who is a numismatist, he's a coin grader, he knows coins, and he goes to coin shows uh all the time, or at least he used to go to coin shows all the time.
SPEAKER_00: He was a good numismatist.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I can tell you there's things in our pantry because he's a good numismatist, all right?
SPEAKER_00: Um, but there are certain coins that he's at a coin show.
SPEAKER_00: If he sees that coin, he will sell his house on the spot to get that coin.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that sounds kind of painful, that sounds kind of frustrating, that sounds kind of hard.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because he knows that he could buy 10 houses with that, 20 houses with that.
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of times, things that cause us temporary pain can lead to something greater.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says that it's very much like that in the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, when you give up everything for him, you lose the world.
SPEAKER_00: But you gain everything.
SPEAKER_00: Temporary pain of like selling a home and living in a hotel for a few months so that you can buy like an island is temporary.
unknown: Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Tony Evans says no one looks forward to suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Amen, Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Evans.
SPEAKER_00: We want to reign with Christ, not suffer with him.
SPEAKER_00: But to reign with Christ in glory, we must suffer with him now.
SPEAKER_00: Guys, what if your suffering actually has a purpose, though?
SPEAKER_00: In Romans 9, the Apostle Paul made a statement I'm not sure I could make, if I'm honest with you.
SPEAKER_00: He said, For my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters, I would be willing to forever be cursed, cut off from Christ if that would save them.
SPEAKER_00: He's willing to go to hell so his brothers might find Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Eternal suffering, eternal separation from God for others.
SPEAKER_00: That's next level.
SPEAKER_00: I don't have that in me, honestly, but I can suffer here and now.
SPEAKER_00: I don't love it, but perhaps the Holy Spirit can do something in me so I can endure suffering for those who are far from Jesus now.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps God can empower you to suffer for God's glory and the good of others.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe uh maybe you weren't even made to have an easy life.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps God can use your pain to bless even more people.
SPEAKER_00: If if you knew that God would use your pain to save others from the eternal punishment of hell, wouldn't you at least consider it?
SPEAKER_00: I know I would.
SPEAKER_00: Because I did, not because I'm awesome, because he is, because he saved my life.
SPEAKER_00: How could I not dedicate my life to him?
SPEAKER_00: God looked down at me in my filth and my sin and he said, I love him, I'll save him.
SPEAKER_00: Some of the most painful experiences I've ex that I've had in my whole life make me who I am today.
SPEAKER_00: Being there for my loved ones as they pass has made it easier for me to be there with you and your loved ones when they've passed.
SPEAKER_00: Without the passing of my own dad and my grandmother and some of the other people I was with, I don't know if I could have done it as easily.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a lesson I would have chosen, but God used my loss to comfort others.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: I believe the devil hates watching you suffer.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say it again.
SPEAKER_00: I believe the devil often hates watching you suffer.
SPEAKER_00: Because he knows that suffering rarely turns you against God.
SPEAKER_00: Pain usually draws us to God.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants to bless you with property, the devil wants to bless you with health and wealth.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not saying those things are necessarily bad, but I'm saying the devil has a plan for it too.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to bless you with power because those things rarely turn us to God.
SPEAKER_00: We end up worshiping ourselves and our comfort, and sometimes even the devil himself.
SPEAKER_00: Now, it's crazy.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you'll get these like word of a day calendars, and like it'll just be like Bible, you know, you like tear it every day.
SPEAKER_00: I saw one once that had this quote I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: Sounds nice, right?
SPEAKER_00: But who is that?
SPEAKER_00: That's the devil talking to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Like, it sounds like a lot of our Instagram and TikTok influencers, though, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Like, I will give you all these things if you fall down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what God is saying.
SPEAKER_00: That's a direct quote from the deceiver in Matthew 4.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering, though, turns us to God.
SPEAKER_00: Our suffering makes us trustworthy.
SPEAKER_00: It causes us not to rely upon ourselves and our own strength.
SPEAKER_00: Our suffering makes us resilient, is what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_00: This is probably why God sometimes wants us to suffer.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Corinthians 1, it says, Praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles, so we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
SPEAKER_00: In Romans 5, it says, our suffering produces proven character and endurance, and endurance produces hope.
SPEAKER_00: You ever seen like a football team that like just rolls through the whole season?
SPEAKER_00: Or like a basketball team that never has a close game?
SPEAKER_00: They will be the best team of any team, but they have no idea how to play a close game.
SPEAKER_00: They have no idea what to do when they get punched in the mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I remember, do you guys remember that year with those Patriots when they won every game and they just walked into the Super Bowl like ready to destroy the Giants?
SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who don't like football here, I'm done with it anyway.
SPEAKER_00: But I remember that season, and I remember I remember how good the Patriots were, but they could not win this close game.
SPEAKER_00: They were playing against a team that was grittier, that had lost more, and that knew what to do.
SPEAKER_00: Also, I think God was against them.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, no, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00: You can't even make fun of the Patriots anymore because they're bad.
SPEAKER_00: Um, they're they're not what they were, at least.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: They had no resiliency.
SPEAKER_00: Now, some of you in the room are in a very secular workplace where Christianity is considered backwards and bigoted.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are in the military where sin often is encouraged by the people around you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just telling you, if you walk with Jesus, you may suffer.
SPEAKER_00: But there is reason to hope.
SPEAKER_00: Only one reason, though.
SPEAKER_00: But it's the biggest and it's the greatest reason.
SPEAKER_00: Our hope is in Jesus, and our hope in Jesus will not be disappointed.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says in Matthew 24 that lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
SPEAKER_00: The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations.
SPEAKER_00: And this brings us to our second point, friends.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering with Jesus is something to celebrate.
SPEAKER_00: Once again, let me say this.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say this as your honest pastor.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 13 instead rejoice as you share in the suffering of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.
SPEAKER_00: If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
SPEAKER_00: See, suffering for Jesus means we means we belong to him.
SPEAKER_00: What an honor.
SPEAKER_00: Our hope is in him, and it means we are family with Jesus, and we can look forward to his glory being revealed to the whole world.
SPEAKER_00: What a beautiful thing to stand for what's right when it's not popular or convenient, only to have him come and reward you.
SPEAKER_00: Not so people can cheer you on, not so people can see you clap back online.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about what when the enemies of justice are afraid to speak to you in the back room, not when everybody can see.
SPEAKER_00: When the enemies of justice want to discredit you and hurt you, what an honor to stand with the weak, to stand with the oppressed and the poor when no one is looking but God, knowing that when we stand with them, we take major hits on popularity and we stand with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: See, Christians, don't be surprised when you suffer.
SPEAKER_00: But when you do suffer for righteousness, you'll find Jesus with you in the pain, and you can look forward to something beyond what people see in front of them.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there are people all over the world that suffer for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There are several countries where you can go to jail or be killed for walking with Jesus, and it is such an honor for those saints who are willing to give their lives so some might give their lives to God.
SPEAKER_00: When you get around those who have given their whole lives to Jesus, you will see joy that transcends suffering.
SPEAKER_00: I have been with missionaries who I know are going home to death.
SPEAKER_00: That is true joy.
SPEAKER_00: And it's infectious, and it's something to celebrate.
SPEAKER_00: It's an adventure with pitfalls and pain, but it's an adventure.
SPEAKER_00: There uh I've been reading books by missionaries lately, and there's this dude named C.T.
SPEAKER_00: Stud, and his last name is a descriptor.
SPEAKER_00: He's a cool dude.
SPEAKER_00: He says this He says, God has called me to go, and I will go.
SPEAKER_00: I will blaze the trail, though my grave may only become a stepping stone that younger men may follow.
SPEAKER_00: Man.
SPEAKER_00: I cannot tell you at times how painful it is to follow Jesus truly.
SPEAKER_00: Those of you who are in the room that know following Jesus is painful, like you feel me.
SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how painful it is to be a pastor.
SPEAKER_00: To love people with all your heart for many years, to serve, to show up at the hospital, to help them through crisis, only for them to throw up the deuces.
SPEAKER_00: So why?
SPEAKER_00: Why do we do it?
SPEAKER_00: Because we love Jesus and He loves us.
SPEAKER_00: And we actually love them because Jesus loves us.
SPEAKER_00: When we've received such an immense grace, how can we not tell everyone we know about it?
SPEAKER_00: We we can't help but pursue people, we can't help but serve people.
SPEAKER_00: Your pastors serve because we love you and because Jesus loved us first.
SPEAKER_00: And if you reject us, if you scorn us, we still love you.
SPEAKER_00: And we want to see you come to full maturity and empower you more and more for the blessing of others.
SPEAKER_00: When you share the gospel with those around you, there will be people who will be annoyed with you.
SPEAKER_00: People who tease you and people who hate you.
SPEAKER_00: It's not fun.
SPEAKER_00: People stop inviting you to things.
SPEAKER_00: I was told not to be with my own grandfather when he was dying because he didn't want me trying to quote proselytize him.
SPEAKER_00: That was painful.
SPEAKER_00: That's not fun.
SPEAKER_00: I know what family members say about us when we don't smoke weed or get drunk with them.
SPEAKER_00: They make fun of us to each other and then they call us judgmental.
SPEAKER_00: So, yes, you might get a fiery trial.
SPEAKER_00: Trial if you belong to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Juan Sanchez, he points out the words fiery trial, and he goes on to say, Peter doesn't try to sugarcoat the reality of Christian suffering.
SPEAKER_00: It is hard, it is painful, it may endure for a long season, it may even take our lives.
SPEAKER_00: It is like going through the fire.
SPEAKER_00: But guys, guys, guys, it's so good, so worth it.
SPEAKER_00: Christians, don't be surprised when you suffer, but you'll find Jesus with you in the pain.
SPEAKER_00: He understands unlike anyone else.
SPEAKER_00: And he gives a spirit to encourage and to help us navigate the hardest moments with unshakable hope.
SPEAKER_00: So, yes, we can have joy in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But let me give you this third point.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering can be consequences for our own stupid actions.
SPEAKER_00: Safety team, can you check that out for me?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 15.
SPEAKER_00: For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household.
SPEAKER_00: See, it's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00: Like he just lists this big old list of sins.
SPEAKER_00: And um, I gotta just say, like, it's interesting.
SPEAKER_00: You got a thief, an evildoer, a meddler, um, a murderer.
SPEAKER_00: Medler is like a gossip, a meddler is someone who just gets into people's arguments and like tries to like be involved.
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of funny that that one's in there.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna spend time on that, but it's interesting to me.
SPEAKER_00: Um we have partners in this church, and I want to say this if you're a partner in this church, you're not a meddler.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to ask somebody how they're doing, if you want to check in on them, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Because when we enter into partnership as a church, we give each other permission to be in our business.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
SPEAKER_00: We recognize each other as family and we give them a fishing license that says you can check in on me and know how I'm doing.
SPEAKER_00: That's not meddling.
SPEAKER_00: If you see me coming out of a strip club and you don't say something about it to somebody, if you don't talk to me about it, you're failing your commitment to me as a partner.
SPEAKER_00: And you're failing your commitment to my wife and kids if you see me coming out of a strip club and you don't talk to me and my family about it, or the elders in that case.
SPEAKER_00: You're failing your commitment to the rest of the church.
SPEAKER_00: If you think I'm doing something wrong and you and you dip, but you don't like come at me because uh you you just don't want to deal with conflict, then you're failing the people you've committed to as a partner in this church, who probably need a new pastor.
SPEAKER_00: Because it sounds like uh if I'm going to the strip club, I got a lot of issues going on right now.
SPEAKER_00: But yes, guys, if you do bad things, there will be consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and even if you come to faith in Jesus, you still may have earthly consequences.
SPEAKER_00: I cannot tell you the people who have been punished for their sins before they knew Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Friends of mine, pastors of mine.
SPEAKER_00: I had a pastor of mine get into major trouble for something he did 25 years ago.
SPEAKER_00: And uh it was before he was a believer, and uh it it wrecked his life.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we have consequences, but yes, if you do bad things, there's consequences.
SPEAKER_00: You still have earthly consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there is a uh a silly show I used to watch um a long time ago when my son would stay up every night long all night long, and I used to just like put an ear ear thing in.
SPEAKER_00: I used to just watch a show all night long, and uh, I'm not gonna say what it was, but there was a lawyer in it, and his name was Bob La Blah.
SPEAKER_00: Um, he had a blog, it was called the Bob La Blah La Blog.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but this is his quote.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Why should you have to go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?
SPEAKER_00: But that's how we feel, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Like we feel like why should I have to be punished for this thing that I did?
SPEAKER_00: I'm with Jesus now.
SPEAKER_00: But that's not how it works.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you might be asking, why is God doing this thing to me?
SPEAKER_00: It's because you did something bad.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't make you a bad person, but sometimes we pay for bad decisions we made.
SPEAKER_00: And remember when I said it's hard to be a pastor because people mistreat you?
SPEAKER_00: Here's the other side.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people mistreat me because I say stupid crap.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people mistreat me because I hurt them, and sometimes they rebuke me, and it's not mistreatment, it's just honesty for my actions.
SPEAKER_00: I had two straight weeks where people quit our church before I had to preach.
SPEAKER_00: And so I preached more annoyed and angry sermons.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry about that.
SPEAKER_00: We actually had to take one of my sermons down because it was just like too angry.
SPEAKER_00: But I especially preached my feelings that first week, and it's not smart for me to process and make you guys my therapist, and that that was that was uh something I had to deal with, and I had consequences, and I just want to tell you I'm sorry for that.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but we don't like to pay for our bad decisions, but it's a part of life.
SPEAKER_00: I've talked to many of you that have been mad at God for so many things, and I get it.
SPEAKER_00: You don't understand.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you suffer for the sins and abuse of others, it's wrong.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry that you never because you never deserved abuse by a parent or a loved one that you trusted, never.
SPEAKER_00: You've never deserved that.
SPEAKER_00: So, by the way, a consequence of making a decision to be with someone who is abusive, like we're not, you don't deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: You don't deserve um being molested for something you wore, ever.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the way it works, okay?
SPEAKER_00: We don't like to pay for bad decisions, but it's a part of life, but this is not what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_00: Many of us attribute our suffering to God, though, when it's really our our actions or the actions of people we've chosen to surround ourselves with.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the crazy thing our sins not only have consequences on this earth, they have eternal consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Our sins echo in eternity.
SPEAKER_00: Our sins destroy any chance of a relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: But there was one who was willing to take our consequences and pay for them with his own life, his own blood.
SPEAKER_00: That is Jesus, that is the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: There had to be a payment made, or there would be eternal consequences.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus willingly said that He would take the He would make the payment of His blood for us.
SPEAKER_00: He would pay the payment for us.
SPEAKER_00: We deserve the consequences, he received them.
SPEAKER_00: The beauty of the gospel is Jesus suffered the consequences for our sins, our actions, my sins.
SPEAKER_00: But when you belong to Jesus and He suffers on your behalf, he also raises again, conquering sin and death, showing on the third day when he was raised again that he was bigger.
SPEAKER_00: So you can belong to Jesus now because of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can be baptized, you can belong to his family, the church.
SPEAKER_00: And I tell you, don't suffer alone.
SPEAKER_00: Let us suffer together as the church.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, when you suffer, you can turn in two directions.
SPEAKER_00: One, away from God and away from community.
SPEAKER_00: That is not recommended.
SPEAKER_00: You can hide from God.
SPEAKER_00: It's been done.
SPEAKER_00: Adam and Eve, when they sinned against God, they hid from him.
SPEAKER_00: But God in his love clothed them.
SPEAKER_00: He made clothing for them because he loved them.
SPEAKER_00: He made a way for them because he loved them.
SPEAKER_00: And he kicked them out of the garden because he loved them.
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of hard to believe, right?
SPEAKER_00: But he needed there to be consequences for their actions so they would turn back to him.
SPEAKER_00: Or else they would have just continued to hurt themselves.
SPEAKER_00: Pain brought them home.
SPEAKER_00: If my pain can bring some of you to Jesus, I know my God will hold me up in my suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Francis Chan once told a story about Christians who were from the persecuted church.
SPEAKER_00: And he was sharing experiences about the persecuted church in China, and I'm going to give you a big quote from him.
SPEAKER_00: He said, I recall when my daughter and I went to an underground gathering in China years ago.
SPEAKER_00: Young people were praying so passionately, begging God to send them to the most dangerous places.
SPEAKER_00: They were actually hoping to die as martyrs.
SPEAKER_00: I had never seen anything like this.
SPEAKER_00: I still can't get over the fearless passion for Jesus that this church embodied.
SPEAKER_00: As they shared stories of persecution, I sat in amazement and asked for more stories.
SPEAKER_00: After a while, they asked why I was so intrigued.
SPEAKER_00: I told them that the church in America was nothing like this.
SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how embarrassing it was to try to explain to them that people attend 90-minute services once a week in buildings, and that's what we call church.
SPEAKER_00: I told them about how people switch churches if they find better teaching or more exciting music or more robust programs for their kids.
SPEAKER_00: As I describe church life in America, they begin to laugh.
SPEAKER_00: Not just small chuckles, they were laughing hysterically.
SPEAKER_00: I felt like a stand-up comedian.
SPEAKER_00: But I was literally just describing the American church as I've experienced it.
SPEAKER_00: They found it laughable that we could read the same scriptures they were reading and then create something so incongruent.
SPEAKER_00: Guys, we tend to think that God's will is that we don't have pain.
SPEAKER_00: Now look at these Chinese believers who said that like God is sending us to our deaths for Him and His glory.
SPEAKER_00: So you may ask this question, though, why would I want to be a part of a faith tradition that demands suffering?
SPEAKER_00: Instead, I want you to ask, how is Jesus so good?
SPEAKER_00: So good that his followers are able to willingly suffer to the point of death and still walk forward in abounding joy.
SPEAKER_00: If you've not given your life to Jesus, God may be calling you to that today.
SPEAKER_00: You may ask, who is this God that's worth suffering for?
SPEAKER_00: But you may also consider why did God believe you were worth suffering and dying for?
SPEAKER_00: During communion, you'll find me or one of our leaders over here, and we'll pray with you.
SPEAKER_00: In City Life Church, I'll say this to you don't be surprised when you suffer.
SPEAKER_00: But if you do suffer, you'll find Jesus with you in the pain.
SPEAKER_00: He understands and he gives his spirit to encourage and to help us navigate the hardest moments with unshakable hope.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, I just preached a sermon about how uh suffering is good.
SPEAKER_00: I still don't want to suffer.
SPEAKER_00: God, I still grieve for those people in the room who have suffered at the hands of others, who have been mistreated, and they want to understand you are good, but they don't know how you can be good when they felt those things.
SPEAKER_00: People who feel guilt for things that have been done to them that they had no choice.
SPEAKER_00: People have been changed.
SPEAKER_00: People have sinned in terrible ways, they don't think that you could ever welcome them.
SPEAKER_00: But God, we know that if we come to you and we confess our sin that you are good, I'm willing to forgive us.
SPEAKER_00: So in the silence of this moment, we confess our sins to you in our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: God, we want to say to you, there are times when we have not trusted you with our suffering.
SPEAKER_00: We're grateful that you have patience, abounding patience for us.
SPEAKER_00: And we ask, Lord, that as we seek to follow you, we ask that you would receive these confessions.
SPEAKER_00: We ask with confidence, knowing that as far as the east is from the west, so our sin is from your sight when we come to you with true repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Father, that when you look upon us, you see the righteousness of your Son Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We are forever grateful.
SPEAKER_00: And God, if it gives you glory, then let us suffer and help us to understand.
SPEAKER_00: But we ask that you would give us an extra dose of that unshakable joy.
SPEAKER_00: We love you and pray this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Let's give a hand cop of praise for that good.