Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

In the village of Miango, Nigeria, there is a guest house and a small church called Kirk Chapel.

Behind the chapel is a small cemetery with 56 graves.

Thirty-three of them hold the bodies of children of Christian missionaries.

The stones read: "Ethyl Arnold: September 1, 1928–September 2, 1928."

"Barbara J. Swanson: 1946–1952."

"Eileen Louise Whitmoyer: May 6, 1952–July 3, 1955."

This was the cost of taking the gospel of Nigeria for many families.

A fella, by the name of Charles White, told his story about visiting this little graveyard and ended it with a tremendously powerful sentence.

He said, "The only way we can understand the graveyard at Miango is to remember that God also buried His Son on the mission field."

And when He raised Him from the dead, He called the church to follow Him into the same dangerous field called… "all the world."

The question we must answer is "are we willing to follow?"

Are you willing to follow Christ when it is difficult?

Will you follow Him when it is dangerous?

Will you follow Him if it causes pain, suffering and even death?

One of the most common questions that people ask is… “Why do bad things happen to good people”?

We find ourselves in the midst of a time of trial or tribulation and we cry out to God and ask Him why???

As we go through our text today, I am hoping to shed a little bit of light on the answer to that question.

In this letter from Peter, suffering is a constant theme… And now as he nears the end of the letter he provides some insight as to why God allows His children to suffer… So today, we will look at… “The Fiery Trials of Christianity”

1 Peter 4:12-19 (Read)

Meat:

This morning we are going to look at 4…

Aspects of Fiery Trials:

And the first aspect that I want you to see is the…

1. Trials are Inevitable

I made this same point as we were studying through chapter 1…

Peter says here… 1 Peter 4:12 “12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;”

The NASB words it like this… “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you...”

This means that… No matter who you are there will come a time when you face pain, troubles and trials.

There is no escape, because we live in a world plagued with sin.

In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to deal with any trials… and when we are able to enter into that perfect world, where we will be in the presence of our Living Hope, Jesus Christ, we won’t have to deal with trials any longer!

But until then… I believe that we will deal with 3 different types of trials…

First of all… there are…

1.1 Common Trials

These are trials that everyone faces, regardless of your background, race, religion, or even your age… at some point we are all going to have a bad day…

Matthew 5:45 (NASB95)

45 … for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Theologians, when talking about the part that says “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good...” call this “Common Grace” (or common blessing).

We know that every morning we wake up with breath in our lungs, it is a blessing from God.

But, even the people who have a hatred toward God and would use that breath to blaspheme His Holy Name, still also receive that same blessing…

Like wise… when Scripture says that He “… sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

it is talking about “Common Trials” (or Common Suffering)...

Consider for a moment, the 3 crosses of Calvary.

I know that there were 2 sinners and Jesus.

But one of the sinners was saved in his final moments of life… So, for sake of the illustration, I will say that there was a Saint, a Sinner and a Savior crucified that day.

All three of them suffered and died, whether they deserved it or not.

None of them were exempt from suffering and death. .

Our minds have a hard time comprehending why bad things happen to "good" people.

And we may also question why good things happen to evil people.

Though we may not understand it, there is such thing as “common grace” and “common suffering”.

Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, said…

All over the world people are dying from starvation.

Droughts leave people thirsty and cause crops to fail.

Hurricanes, Tsunamis & earthquakes that ravage the land.

Harsh chemicals that are released into the air we breathe...

Many people live in the middle of war zones.

Terrorism is on the rise.

Millions of people suffer from different diseases.

Unemployment, lack of healthcare and rising costs of utilities and food are a problem for many.

This is common suffering that takes place all over the world.

None of us are exempt.

There is another type of trial that I would like to consider and that is:

1.2 Carnal Trials

Carnal refers to that which is not spiritual… I know we are skipping a little for a minute, but look at v.15… Peter says…

1 Peter 4:15 “15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.”

Here Peter speaks of suffering trials for doing things that are wrong.

Many people are suffering because of the choices they have made.

If you fail to pay your taxes your assets may be seized and your wages may be garnished.

If you drink and drive you will get a DUI and possibly lose your license.

If you rob someone you will be arrested and spend time in jail.

If you murder someone you will go to prison... possibly for the rest of your life...

Bad choices and sinful actions bring severe consequences.

Many times when people face this type of suffering they blame God.

When in fact they are suffering because of their own choices.

They drink a half a case of beer a day and when they get cirrhosis of the liver it is God's fault.

They consume illegal drugs and blame God when they lose their job and all of their possessions in order to support their habit.

Some abuse their spouse or commit adultery and then ask why God allowed their marriage to fail.

Choices have consequences and the consequences may bring severe, carnal trials.

There are also…

1.3 Christian Trials

This is the suffering that is perhaps the hardest for us to understand.

But I can testify that CHRISTIANS DO SUFFER!!

We are not suddenly immune to pain and problems when we surrender to Christ.

In fact, that may be the point in your life when troubles seem to intensify.

We have many examples of Christ followers in the Bible who suffered greatly AFTER their conversions.

1) James was beheaded by Herod.

2) Then Herod apprehended Peter and imprisoned him intending to do the same.

3) Stephen was stoned to death.

4) Paul was in and out of prison for preaching Jesus.

(not to mention his physical harm and eventual death for his faith)

At the time Peter wrote this letter, Nero was the King.

Nero was notorious for taking Christians, soaking them in combustible liquid and using them to light his gardens at night.

For sport, Nero would also clothe Christians in the hides of wild animals and they would be torn to death and eaten by lions or dogs.

All over the world today men and women are being persecuted for their faith.

They are being arrested, beaten and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

We may not have experienced the physical persecution that some Christian martyrs have faced, but we do know about troubles, trials and tribulations.

Many of us have experienced first hand the reality of Christian Trials.

Christian people have to bury their babies.

Christian marriages sometimes fail.

Christian husbands have to stand by the bedside of their dying wives.