Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday January 10, 2010

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In the School of Suffering

1 Peter 4:13-16

The word ‘suffer’ occurs 15 times in 1P – more than any other NT book.   And it occurs in C4 more than any other C in 1P.  Peter avoided suffering in gospels: rebuking Jesus/falling asleep in garden/Malchus’ ear/denying Christ in courtyard.  Peter came to embrace what he once shunned.  What once was trash has now become treasure.  It took Peter some time b4 he came to this understanding and it will probably take you some time, also.

The Bible tells us that the God who created/redeemed us, the God we serve is the God who is greater than the world around us/ sickness upon us/devil against us.  The suffering of God’s people is counterintuitive due to the greatness of God.  If God is bigger than the world/sickness/devil, why does He allow these things to come upon His people?  What is being accomplished?  Bill Gates’ kids riding the city buses is counterintuitive – we would expect them 2b chauffeured in limos. This is why Peter writes not 2b surprised – it is against expectations. 

13  The fiery ordeal of v12 is a sharing in the sufferings of Christ.  

The burning is trash/sharing in His sufferings is treasure.

…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… Philippians 3:10

Why would you want to share in the sufferings of Christ?  Why is this such a valuable experience?   Would you want to share the sufferings of Helen Keller/emaciated African child uc on TV?  We work hard to avoid such things.  Why would you want to share in the sufferings of Christ?  Why is this such a valuable experience?   Women, during labor, don’t you wish that your husband could get hit w/ just five strong bone shattering/back breaking/body splitting contractions?  What would that do?  There would be so much more understanding/patience/tenderness.  

Men, you would know your wife more deeply and be able to resonate w/ her in a way that you don’t now if you were to share the sufferings of her labor pains.  2nter n2 someone’s suffering is 2b connected in a deeper way.  Those who have buried children have a connection w/ one another that they don’t have w/ others.  Those who have fought/ suffered in battle have a bond/loyalty difficult to fathom.  I just spoke w/ someone who suffered daily for six weeks w/ a particular medical condition.  He told me that he really has sympathy for those w/ years long chronic illnesses.

Those who suffer together enter n2 each other’s lives.  Christ would have you enter into not only His salvation, but also His life.

Paul wanted to experience the sufferings of Christ so that he might enter more deeply/fully into the life of Christ – to know Christ.  To have faith in Christ is to have union w/ Him.  To enter n2 His sufferings is to have communion w/ Him.  To believe in Christ is to enter n2 salvation.  To be buffeted for Christ is to enter n2 His life.  

Peter: not all suffering is Christian suffering - To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ…  Think of what ur suffering now –

Financial hardship/Marital tension/Family strife/Health problems/Emotional problems/Career problems/Addictions and Bondages/Motivational problems

Now ask this question: How much of this suffering is because ur following Christ?  You might say, “Yes, things are tough right now/I am experiencing great difficulty, but I can’t honestly say it’s because I’m following Christ.  I think these things are just a part of life, not just the Christian life.”  Maybe you’re not suffering what He suffered, but you can learn to suffer as (v16) He suffered.  1P2:21ff

“It seems that if I don’t suffer persecution, I can’t know Christ in His fullness.”  Different kinds of suffering:

    * The suffering of persecution
    * The suffering of discipleship
          o A life of devotion – take up your cross: deny self/rise early/ pray often/sacrifice time-money-energy.
    * The suffering of the consequences of sin
    * The suffering of difficult circumstances

You may be suffering the consequences of sin/difficult circumstances.  Even though ur not suffering because you did the will of God, you can suffer according to the will of God by committing yourself to Him/learning what He would have u2 learn.  So, though ur not suffering persecution, there is suffering as you follow Jesus and deny the flesh/move away from conformity to the world.  If ur suffering the consequences of sin/difficult circumstances, you can be quiet in your soul and suffer the way God would have you suffer – looking to Him.

C. Colson went to prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.  He suffered for his crime, & during that time he came to Christ.  The ridicule/scorn shifted from his following Nixon to his following Christ.  He wasn’t suffering because he was a Christian, but he learned to suffer as a Christian for his crime committed while a non-Christian.  

2nter n2 someone’s suffering is 2b connected in a deeper way.

(12.28.09) Scores of New Yorkers/tourists seeking a fresh start in 2010 came to Times Square on Monday to put their bad memories through the shredder at the third annual Good Riddance Day. Good Riddance Day is a time participants pitch their bad memories into an industrial-sized shredder.

    * Ben Winnick of Simsbury, Conn., shredded a newspaper story about the NY Giants' 41-9 loss Sunday to the Carolina Panthers, which ended the Giants' playoff hopes.
    * Roxanne Rodriguez of Manhattan shredded a piece of paper with "Writer's block" written on it. She intends to write a musical. "This is going 2b the year. I'm going 2b dedicated/ focused, and I will get something down on the page every day," she promised.
    * Gillian Lyons broke up with a man she calls "the Beastmaster" and said she's been waiting for him to return her possessions for two years. "He won't give me back the TV I paid for," she complained.

Don’t need a shredder – bring it to Jesus!!!  Jesus entered n2 our sufferings by becoming a man.  To enter n2 someone’s sufferings is 2b connected w/ them in a powerful way.