Hope in Suffering

CAPTURE

Introduction, pictures of Alé and JDude. Future captain of the Tennessee Volunteers. No specific sport, just all of them. I am a little bit of a fan (Dark mode photo from this weekend). This is from this weekend. We were rocking our dark mode fit. This was all his idea too and I’m just trying to be the best dad I can and he made a really strong case so we dressed up and went for ice cream. Any other Tennessee fans in the room? Go Vols. I’ve been a Tennessee fan all my life, but from 2013 to 2016, Alé and I lived in Knoxville. And if you’re a Tennessee fan, let me just say—Knoxville changes you. By the time we moved back to Nashville, I wasn’t just a fan; I was fully obsessed. Then came 2017, which became known as the worst season in modern Tennessee history. Eight brutal losses. Butch Jones was fired. And let me tell you, I suffered that season. But the suffering didn’t stop there. Next came the infamous coaching search of 2017—a saga that could’ve had its own documentary. One coach was all but hired, until the fanbase literally protested outside the athletic director’s office, forcing him to reconsider. Then, somehow, the AD made an unapproved, last-ditch offer to another candidate and got himself fired in the process. It was a spectacle. Tennessee football became a national punchline, and, yes, the fanbase suffered right along with it. Finally, in 2018, we hired Jeremy Pruitt. And like any good Tennessee fan, I was back on board. I even got season tickets. By midseason, we were 3-3, but I convinced myself we could take on Alabama. I was so sure, I invited my friend Seth Keller along for the ride up to Knoxville. And for 175 miles, I talked smack. Final score? Alabama 58, Tennessee 21. And I suffered the whole way home, every single one of those 175 miles. So if you ask me, being a Tennessee fan is a lesson in resilience—a crash course in suffering, really. But hey, we wouldn’t have it any other way, right?

-Connection-

Suffering is a universal experience. We’ve all felt it on some scale and the hard part is suffering isn’t fair. It hits some much harder than others without any sort of fairness. When my granny began to lose her memory, my Papa suffered through the pain of caring for her for years while her condition deteriorated slowly. And it felt so unfair. Suffering isn’t fair. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar whether it was a loss or you were overlooked, or maybe like the gentiles that Peter was writing to in our text tonight, you suffered for you faith and devotion to Jesus.

-Transition-

We are in an era in the history of the church where we are experiencing suffering and persecution at higher and higher levels and yet, maybe in the upside down kingdom that Jesus ushered in, suffering and persecution might somehow be a good thing? TENSION What if facing opposition in this life is a feature and not a bug?

Tonight we are going to talk about suffering and how we find hope in it. If you have your copy of God’s word, go ahead and open to 1 Peter chapter 3. I’ll say this because it’s meaningful to me. If you don’t have a paper copy of the Bible that you go to regularly, grab one of the many copies we have in the back of the room. 1 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 13. And when you get there, would you join me in standing as we honor God’s living word tonight.

- Setting -

1 Peter - We know this Peter guy right, fisherman, he can be a bit rage-y at times right? He cut off a guys ear, he had this moment where he’s the first to recognize Jesus as Christ. The vast majority of scholars believe Peter authored this letter and again most believe he was writing to a church in modern day Turkey that was filled mostly by converted gentiles. This would have been in the 60s and if you know your early church history, this is right before Nero’s persecution of Christians. There you go, you have the setting. So here it is.

-MAIN THING-

1 Peter was a reminder of Identity. Who. You. Are.

When I was in my first ministry internship, I’d spent a little over a year with a worship pastor at a church in Smyrna and while studying for my undergrad degree I’d become interested in a different path. Become a lawyer and make a lot of money. And I was good at it too! There’s this organization that partners with college students called the TISL. Anyone heard of it? At this point in the story I’d been involved with TISL for a couple years and I was appointed to serve as the attorney general for a year which was an executive role of leadership. I was good at it but my calling wasn’t my call. That word calling in the greek is Kaleo and it means the divine invitation from God to us. You know what I mean. And Ron, the worship pastor in Smyrna took me aside one day and reminded me of who I was. He helped me course correct and I am forever grateful for that.

To this audience of gentiles Peter addresses their identity and how they should act and specifically how they should respond to suffering and persecution. Speaking to their felt need.

See when Peter refers to them as exiles in chapter one, it’s a very purposeful reference to the nation of Israel. Now because of Jesus, this growing group of gentiles are adopted into the family of God! They have an identity that they had never dreamed of before. They belonged to God. (WHY) I hope you know tonight that you have an identity. And if you have forgotten that, I’m here to remind you young adult. Just as Ron reminded me. You have a calling and it’s not your call. 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.”

Our job is to keep us out of the way. God is going to use you if you’ll let him.

But how are we as followers of the way of Jesus to respond adversity, to persecution, to suffering in light of who God says we are? Said another way, how does your identity influence your response to opposition? Our response is a result of the correlation between our level of suffering and our level of faith.

To begin thinking on that topic tonight, lets look back to the text in verse 13 and 14. 1 Peter 3:13–14 “Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated,”

And heres my takeaway from these two verses:

Suffering as a blessing

I know right now you might be thinking “How in the world is suffering a blessing” but we see this theme all through the new testament. Just look at the sermon on the mount. It was a reoccurring theme for Jesus to say blessed are those… and then follow that up with something naturally undesirable. And that’s this idea of an upside down kingdom.

The more we live and try to practice the Sermon on the Mount, the more shall we experience blessing.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

Suffering as a testimony

The Suffering Messiah

It’s this idea that Jesus wasn’t the king they thought they wanted, he was the King they needed, the suffering Messiah. And Jesus says

In the early church, believers often faced severe persecution from the Roman Empire. One compelling story is that of Perpetua, a young mother who was imprisoned for her Christian faith around 203 AD. Despite her father's pleas to abandon her beliefs for the sake of her family, she held steadfast. Her martyrdom in the arena, along with her faithful witness, inspired countless others to remain strong in their convictions, exemplifying the cost of discipleship in the face of oppression.

In 18th-century England, John Wesley spearheaded a revival movement, despite facing significant opposition from the church and society. Wesley, who was a staunch believer in the power of personal faith and communal gatherings, was often banned from preaching in churches. Undeterred, he took to the fields, preaching to coal miners and the working class. His actions not only sparked spiritual awakenings but also transformed the social fabric of his time, demonstrating how one man's dedication can ignite change in an entire society.

In the late 19th century, a young inventor named Thomas Edison said that he never failed, he simply found 10,000 ways that didn’t work. His light-hearted approach to blunt failure led to groundbreaking inventions. Likewise, as Christians, we should embrace our failures, learning and moving forward with joy, understanding that, like Edison's inventions, God is crafting something beautiful out of our trials.

Our suffering is not worthy the name of suffering. When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death; thinking what are they in comparison to the sufferings of my blessed Savior Christ Jesus.

Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)

You will not be free of suffering, but a peaceful suffering is twice as easy to bear as suffering in turmoil.

François De Salignac De La Mothe Fénelon (Archbishop of Cambrai)

Suffering dispels the illusion that we have the strength and competence to rule our own lives and save ourselves. People “become nothing through suffering” so that they can be filled with God and his grace.

Timothy Keller

The connection between the two sections is this: since Christ’s suffering is the pathway to glory, believers should also prepare themselves to suffer, knowing that suffering is the prelude to an eschatological reward.

Thomas Schreiner

The staying power of our faith is neither demonstrated nor developed until it is tested by suffering.

D. A. Carson

We could not learn endurance without suffering, because without suffering there would be nothing to endure.

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

Suffering … is the badge of the true Christian.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Lutheran Pastor)

The connection between the two sections is this: since Christ’s suffering is the pathway to glory, believers should also prepare themselves to suffer, knowing that suffering is the prelude to an eschatological reward.

Thomas Schreiner

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