Joy in the Midst of Suffering
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Suffering isn’t a topic we really like. We will sit through sermons, Bible studies and Sunday School lessons that briefly talk about suffering and acknowledge it as a fact but we do not like to suffer. It is ok when we talk about how others have suffered and we feel bad but when we suffer we hate it.
Talking about joy in the midst of suffering seems like an oxymoron.
Today is often referred to as Resurrection Sunday, the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Without His death, we have no forgiveness. Without His resurrection, we have no promise of our future. That alone should bring us much joy. But Christians seem to share more about suffering than joy.
Ever notice when you ask someone how they are doing, it is usually a short answer like “ok,” “fine” or maybe they will say things are going good.
If it is a longer answer then we tend to talk about our sufferings, our pains. I am doing pretty good but my back still hurts; or my knees, or whatever it is on our bodies that causes some pain.
I am not pointing my finger at you but at myself. I have noticed that I can tend to do this. We all do it to some extent. I am not suggesting that you never share what is going on in your life that you need prayer about. I am saying that maybe we should focus on the joy we have more than we do.
A reason Peter wrote about trials is because he was writing to a group of people who were being persecuted for their beliefs. The letter was written not long after the Roman emperor started blaming Christians for things going wrong.
Let’s read our passage from 1 Peter 1:6-12
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.
1. Purpose of Pain
1 Peter 1:6-7
There is a purpose to the pain we experience.
Verse 6 transitions us from an eschatological view to a present day view.
“In this you greatly rejoice.” What are we rejoicing in? Verse 3-5 talks about what we have in the future. We will obtain an inheritance and our salvation will be fully revealed. From now to then, we have a living hope that God will get us to that salvation through His sovereign power.
But currently we are not there, yet.
Now, for a little while, we will be distressed by various trials. Peter doesn’t explain the various trials. He just lets us know we will face them. But he lets us know they will have a purpose in our lives.
I don’t have to be starving to learn to appreciate food. I can be a little hungry and learn to appreciate food. So why do some people starve while others just go a little hungry?
I don’t think it is the starving, or being hungry and you learning to appreciate food. I think it is more about God than you. It is that God will not leave you. Jesus said He will not forsake us. It is more about God’s glory than your struggles that is important.
Our struggles will help us grow, they will help us to become more Christ like. But, our struggles also point to God.
As we face various trials and learn to live by faith, others will see this and it will bring glory to God. It is that life of faith, a life that relies upon the living God, the I Am which is more precious than gold.
During Easter, we talk about, preach about and study about the forgiveness God bought for us on the cross and we talk about the resurrection so we know He bought us more than simple forgiveness. Sadly, there is too much of a refrain during this time of I, me, us.
The focus of this time of year is on what God has done. God sent His Son. God the Son walked to the cross and laid His life down on the cross. God the Father raised His Son back up on this day of resurrection. And God sent us His Spirit so that we will have a future.
There is a purpose in pain. Pain refines us. But a purpose of being refined is to lead others to Christ. God leads us through the pain, to Him as we live in faith and as a testimony and witness to God’s glory.
2. Promise of Joy
1 Peter 1:8-9
God is trying to lead us into a land of milk and honey yet we want to live in a desert.
Imagine, after 400 years of slavery, God sends a man who leads you out of slavery. Not just out of slavery but God worked so that those who enslaved you, gave you their gold. God sustains you, leads you and protects you. You are on the edge of your homeland, the land of milk and honey. All you have to do is cross the river and take your homeland.
But then you have to put your faith in this God who freed you, fed and watered you, clothed you. That’s is it. Put your faith in Him and you will live in a land of milk and honey. What is your decision?
We all know the decision of the Hebrews as they stood in the desert opposite the land of milk and honey. They chose to not follow God and in doing so they had to wander around the desert for another 40 years, until that generation died off.
I wonder how many of the next generation ever had doubts about the milk and honey?
Paul reminds his readers that even though we have not seen God, we still love Him. Let’s look at these two verses again. They should give us both comfort and promise.
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Even though we have not seen Him, do not see Him, we still love Him and believe Him. From that we have the promise of joy in this life as well as in our future life.
Our joy; regardless of life, regardless of the ups and down, regardless of anything that can happen, we have a joy that exhibits our faith, glorifies Him as others see us living our faith. Our promise of joy.
3. Prophets' Perspective
1 Peter 1:10-12
The prophets perspective was different than ours yet it still teaches us about our faith.
They placed their faith in what they had been given for prophecy though they still looked forward to what was coming.
We place our faith in what we know to be the truth from the past but we still look forward to what is coming.
Too many consider Christians to have blind faith. Our faith isn’t blind; it is grounded in what we know is the truth, what we read, what life teaches us to be truth.
The prophets longed to see what they knew to be the future. They did not know when this future would be but they knew it would be the future. I find it interesting how Paul put in writing for us to read.
Talking about the prophets from our OT, Peter writes of them, “They were not serving themselves, but you.”
All of those prophecies that point toward the coming of Christ; all those prophecies which point to who the Christ would be, what He would do and what that would mean were preached so that you, the reader of this letter, which was written hundreds of years after those prophecies would know, not guess, hot merely wish but that we would know who the Christ is and be able to place our faith in Him.
In once sense we have a similar view to their view in that we look forward to the completion of all that God has promised. But we also stand on this side of the cross and know that the Christ has come and has forgiven us.
And today, we celebrate His coming and what He did. I think celebrating the Lord’s supper at Easter is a special time. It takes us back to the time of His life, the time of His death and resurrection so that we can now, with great assurances, celebrate our future.
What about you?
Let’s pray.
