Happy Trials
Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner • Sermon • Submitted
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I think that you are all at least familiar with the TV show “Survivor,” whether you have watched it or not. It is what they call now a “reality” game show. 16 people are put into an environment like an island, and the goal is to be the winner of a $1 million prize. Fortunately for the participants, they are voted off by the other participants, not burned at the stake of sacrificed to a volcano. After they are voted off about the worst thing that happens is they might be humiliated on the internet. In fact, they are flown from the hostile environment in which they have been living, and taken to a posh resort. Many of them make TV appearances and some even are able to launch a new career afterward.
The modern day game show “Survivor” pales in comparison to the high stakes game of life that Martin Luther became involved in when he opposed the established authorities in the Church. For Martin Luther spiritual survival was of foremost importance, and he understood how important that was for every person. No matter what may happen in life, no matter how bad circumstances may get, spiritual survival comes first. Martin Luther had it straight. He knew that spiritual survival in a hostile spiritual environment dictates a firm confession of faith.
For us in our spiritual environment it has not really gotten any easier. The Bible tells us to expect trials and troubles as we struggle to survive the hostile wilderness of this world.
The Apostle Peter also knew what it was like to suffer for Jesus, to make a stand with no turning back. In our passage this evening we will discover that when we are square in the middle of God’s perfect will, our trials can in a way be happy trials… we can know the joy of sweetly suffering for our Savior.
When The Spirit of Glory Rests Upon You.
When The Spirit of Glory Rests Upon You.
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.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Peter again referred to Jesus’ teaching (Matt. 5:11). If a Christian was insulted (cf. 1 Peter 3:9) because of the name of Christ, he should be considered blessed (makarioi; cf. 3:14). Anything that we suffer for the sake of Christ is a privilege, not a penalty1
1 Roger M. Raymer, “1 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 854.
happy are ye
The apostle says that in view of the fact that they are being reproached, they are happy. The word “happy” is the translation of a Greek word which means “prosperous.” It is used in Matthew 5:3–11, where it is translated “blessed.” It refers in these contexts to a spiritually prosperous state or condition of the believer. That is, if the world persecutes a Christian, that is an indication of the spiritual prosperity of his life. The world does not persecute a worldly Christian, only a spiritual one. It is spirituality that rubs its fur the wrong way.1
1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 120.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
But not only is the fact of persecution an indication of a spiritually prosperous life, but also of the fact that the Holy Spirit is resting upon the Christian. The words “rest upon” are the translation of a Greek word used in a manuscript of 103 b.c. as a technical term in agriculture. The writer speaks of a farmer resting his land by sowing light crops upon it. He relieved the land of the necessity of producing heavy crops, and thus gave it an opportunity to recuperate its strength. The word is used in Matthew 11:28 where our Lord says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” literally, “and I will rest you.” Here our Lord causes the sinner who comes to Him to cease from his own efforts at carrying his load of guilt and suffering, taking it upon Himself, allowing the believer in his new life powers to function as a child of God. In our First Peter passage, the Holy Spirit rests and refreshes the believer in the sense that He takes over the saint’s battle with sin and the heretofore futile effort at living a life pleasing to God, by giving him victory over the evil nature whose power was broken the moment God saved him, and by producing in his life His own fruit. The Spirit of the Glory, even the Spirit of God, is resting with refreshing power upon the child of God, causing him to live a life which pleases God and toward which the world hurls its venom and hate. The words “on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified,” while true, do not appear in the best Greek texts, and are not therefore thought to be part of the original manuscript that left the hands of Peter. We have therefore not included them in the translation.1
1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 120–121.
When You Do Not Suffer For Your Own Sin
When You Do Not Suffer For Your Own Sin
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.
Peter stressed that persecution was no excuse for lawlessness. Christians were not to retaliate (3:9). Physical violence was not to be met by murder. Confiscation of property was not to be compensated for by theft. No matter what their trials, Christians were to do nothing that would justify punishing them as criminals (cf. 2:19; 3:17). They were not to suffer as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. Even interfering in other people’s affairs is out of place for Christians (cf. 1 Tim. 5:13).1
1 Roger M. Raymer, “1 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books,
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
The word “busybody” means in the Greek, “a self-appointed overseer in other men’s matters.”1
1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 121.
When You Are Not Ashamed
When You Are Not Ashamed
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
For the time is 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?
There is no shame if one suffer(s) as a Christian rather than as a V 2, p 855 criminal. On the contrary, that name should be a source of praise to God for it identifies the bearer with the blessings of salvation (cf. v. 11). The term “Christian” (Christianos) occurs only three times in the Bible (here and Acts 11:26; 26:28). It may have been used derisively by unbelievers, as an insult.1
1 Roger M. Raymer, “1 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 854–855.
The context in First Peter speaks of the persecutions which were allowed to come by God as a disciplinary judgment, the purpose of which was to purify their lives. They were being saved with difficulty in the sense that if it was necessary for God to purify the lives of saints by these drastic means, namely, persecution and suffering, what can one say as to the position of the unsaved in relation to God? If the righteous need disciplinary judgments, how much more will the unrighteous merit the wrath of God whose offer of righteousness they have rejected.1
1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 122–123.
When You Commit Your Soul to God for Safekeeping
When You Commit Your Soul to God for Safekeeping
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.
The Greek word “commit” is a banking term meaning “to give in charge as a deposit.” Peter exhorts believers who are undergoing persecutions, that in view of the fact that these are allowed to come by God and are designed to purify their lives, they have every reason to trust Him to take care of them through all of their sufferings.1
1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 123.
That word for "commit" is actually a banking term. It means to deposit something for safekeeping. Well, that's what we're to do with our lives when we go through times of suffering. Deposit your life in God's bank (so to speak) for safe-keeping. Trust Him to preserve you in the fire. Give yourself to the Lord by continuing to do good.
That's what Bethany Hamilton did. At one time, Bethany was ranked as the #1 amateur teen surfer in Hawaii. Then she lost an arm to a tiger shark in October 2003, but she never lost her faith.
Soon after the attack, she began to raise money to restore a man's eyesight. While visiting New York City, she gave her ski coat to homeless girl. When asked about the gift, she said she had more than she needed in life.
At the time, Steve Thompson, her pastor, said, "She's looking forward to the future. She's asking herself, 'How can I show the world I still have a life, that I enjoy my life, and that my life is filled with joy?' She has an underlying trust that God is taking care of her."
(Jill Lieber, "Teen Surfer Riding Wave of Amazing Grace," USA Today, 3-19-04; www.PreachingToday.com)
Bethany Hamilton entrusted herself to her faithful Creator. She didn't quit living when she lost her arm. No! She gave her life to God. She deposited her life for safekeeping into His hands; and now, God has given her an international platform from which to share her story and bring Him glory. Bethany Hamilton returned to surfing; and just over a year after the shark attack, she took 1st place in the Explorer Women's division of the 2005 NSSA National Championships -- winning her first National Title. Since then, she has turned pro, and a major motion picture about her life was just released this last April (2011). It's called Soul Surfer, and God is using it to bring hope to people all over the world. (www.BethanyHamilton.com)
(From a sermon by C. Philip Green, In the Fire! 7/30/2011)