1st Peter 1:6-7 Please, somebody help me understand my suffering

1 Peter 1:6–7 (KJV 1900)

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

1 Peter 1:6–7 (MSG)

6 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.

7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

Please, somebody help me understand my suffering

1st: Our suffering is Seasonal ( V. 6 )

1 Peter 1:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

Yes we have to suffer but it’s seasonal

Verse 6—Peter says regardless of what we are going through in life as a child of God we always have a reason to rejoice.

Verse 6—Peter says we have a reason to “greatly rejoice”

Define Rejoice—Rejoice in the Greek gives us an English definition of a person showing enthusiasm by jumping & leaping .

Note: It connotes the thought of a person being so excited that they literally start jumping up & down & dancing with joy.

Note: Peter says every child of God has a reason to rejoice.

Peter uses the word rejoice

in spite of what

they are going through

Note: Somethings we’re not going to come out by prayer but somethings we will come out by ( Rejoicing )

Note: Somebody is saying Pastor that’s easy for you to say because you don’t know what I’m going through (Look at verse 6B)

1 Peter 1:6 KJV 1900

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

Peter says you are in heaviness

Define Heaviness—In the Greek it connotes sorrow, deep sorrow

The kind of sorrow when a mother has to bury a child

A.) The Season will Be Difficult—“ye are in heaviness”

Somebody today is going through a difficult season in there life

Everyday you have to fight back tears because it’s a difficult season

Everyday you have to stick a smile on you face because it’s a difficult season

Everyday you got to write yourself sticky notes reminding you to praise God because it’s a difficult season.

A.) The Season will Be Difficult—“ye are in heaviness”

B.) The Season will Be Diversity—“manifold Temptations”

Define manifold—Suggest multiple

Peter says

it’s bad enough

dealing with adversity

but it’s worst

when you’re dealing with

the diversity of adversity

Peter says

it’s bad enough

dealing with one thing

but when it’s one thing after another.

A.) The Season will Be Difficult—“ye are in heaviness”

B.) The Season will Be Diversity—“manifold Temptations”

C.) The Season will be Directed by God

Scrip: Daniel 2:21

21  And he changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise,

Note: The reason why this verse doesn’t move you is because you don’t understand how God operates in time.

There’s two words that describe time

1st: Chronos

2nd: Kairos

Chronos—gives us the word chronological

Chronological—mean one thing after another

Chronological suggest that Tuesday come after Monday

Chronos suggest things have to go in an orderly fashion

But God doesn’t operate on Chronos time

God operates on Kairos time

Kairos time is this

Example: The doctor says you got 6 months to live But God gives you 16 years.

Example: Chronos says you’re facing 20 years in prison but Kairos says I’m giving you probation.

But it’s just a season when I was growing up

They used to tell me that if you talk to yourself

You’re crazy but I found out

that if you don’t talk to yourself

you will go crazy

Every now and then you have to remind YOURSELF by TALKING to yourself it’s just a season

1st: Our suffering is Seasonal ( V. 6 )

2nd. Our Suffering is Strengthening ( V. 7A )

1 Peter 1:7 (KJV 1900)

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

If you’re going to be encourage in your suffering you got to remember suffering is strengthening.

Peter shifts gears in verse 7 & he stop talking about the season of suffering.

And he starts talking about strengthening while suffering

Peter want these suffering saints to realize that

God was not going to allow them to go through what they’re going through.

And not come out empty handed.

God was not going to allow their life to be filled with derision.

And not let that derision give birth to development.

God was not going to allow them to go through.

A period of pain, perils & persecution

And not allow that period of pain, perils & persecution to produce something positive.

God is saying yes you got to suffer.

But when the suffering is over, you’re going to be stronger.

Verse 7

Peter says their lives was being tried by fire.

That phrase “ tried by fire “ gives the imagery or thought.

Of a potter working with clay

It is a pottery phrase

When Peter talks about their lives being tried by fire

He’s liken their lives to what a potter does to the clay

There’s a process that the potter has to use to move the clay from the shop to the show room

The potter is not investing all of his time, talent & treasure & resources to allow the pottery to stay in the shop

But the potter is trying to move the clay from the shop to the show room

But in order for the clay to make that process

There’s several things that the potter has to do to the clay

1st. The potter has to FIND the clay

2nd. He has FORM the clay

3rd. He has to FRAME the clay

4th. He has to FORTIFY the clay

5th. Then he FINISHES the clay

1st. FIND the clay — clay has to be found, look for outside in the dirt

2nd. FORM the clay — He has to have an image in his mind how he wants the clay to

look like. ( vase — ashtray — Bowl )

3rd. FRAME the clay — He puts his hand on the clay & start framing

4th. FORTIFY the clay — the clay is frail so the clay has to be strengthen to be able to be used

Now after the potter has FOUND — FORM — FRAME — FORTIFY the clay.

Now the potter has to use something & the only thing at his disposal that can make the clay fortified is a furnace.

And now the potter turns on his furnace to 660 degrees - 1500 degrees

Because the only way the clay is going to get fortified is by some fire

The good news is before the potter puts the clay into the furnace

He put a glaze all over the clay.

Because the potter don't want the clay to look like what it's going INTO

The same thing that the potter does to the clay is the same thing God does to you and I .

God ( Found us — Formed us — Framed us — We was Fragile Fortified us ) —

Put us in the Furnace — God put something on us GRACE )

Note: The only reason we don’t look like what we’ve been through is because God got a glaze on us. ( GRACE )

Note: you don’t look like —-> Divorce — Cancer — Layoff — buried mother — buried child — bankruptcy — foreclosure — bad relationship — transplant — depression — etc.

1st. Our Suffering is Seasonal ( V. 6 )

2nd. Our Suffering is Strengthening ( V. 7A )

3rd. Our Suffering is Survivable ( V. 7B )

1 Peter 1:7 (KJV 1900)

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Realize that you can survive this season of suffering in your life

Realize that this is not going to take you out

Realize that this is not the ending of your STORY

It can’t END like this ( TO BE CONTINUE )

If the Devil had the power to take you out he would have by now

If the Devil had the power to make you lose your mind you would have lost it by now

1st: Peter 1:7 ( NLT )

7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

1st. Anxiety

1 Peter 5:7 (KJV 1900) 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Define: Care — mean Anxiety

Define: Care -- it is a concern or a care

“ Casting “ — means to throw

A. Throw it AWAY

Suffering, the real life of the Believer

1st. Anxiety

2nd. Attacks

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV 1900) 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Devil: to engagement in slander, slanderous

Roaring: to cry with a full loud continued sound

Note: That roaring in the greek is to make things bigger in the mind & to the eyes than what they actually are.

Note: Lions attack sick, young, or straggling animals; they choose victims who are alone or not alert. Peter warns us to watch out for Satan when we are suffering or being persecuted. If you are feeling alone, weak, helpless, and cut off from other believers, or if you are so focused on your troubles that you forget to watch for danger, those are the times when you are especially vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. During times of suffering, seek other Christians for support. Keep your eyes on Christ, and resist the devil. Then, says James, “he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

A. Throw it AWAY

B. Be ALERT

Suffering, the real life of the Believer

1st. Anxiety

2nd. Attacks

3rd. Affliction

1 Peter 5:9 (KJV 1900) 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

A. Throw it AWAY

B. Be ALERT

C. Look AROUND

Suffering, the real life of the Believer

1st. Anxiety

2nd. Attacks

3rd. Affliction

4th. Assurance

1 Peter 5:10 (KJV 1900) 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you

1 Peter 5:10 (LABN): 5:10

When we are suffering,

we often feel as though

our pain will never end

Peter gave

these faithful Christians

a broader perspective

In comparison with eternity

their suffering

would last only

“a little while.”

Some of Peter’s readers

would be strengthened

and delivered

in their own lifetimes

Others

would be released

from their suffering

through death

All of God’s faithful followers

are assured

of an eternal life

with Christ

where there will be no more suffering (Revelation 21:4)

John Wesley of United Methodist Church describes God’s Grace 3 ways

Prevenient grace

Justifying grace

Sanctifying grace

Sufficient Grace

Amazing Grace