Hopeful endurance

1 Peter 4:1–2 “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

In my perspective, I think one of the most dangerous things a person can do is think that they are a Christian by maybe just coming to church once a week, or serving once a week, or like saying you go to church for social media or have the verse on your bio and then when they go out into the world, their life is not so different to those around them and even reject Jesus as their King to those people in the world. And the reason I think this is one of the most dangerous things is both for you and for other people:

For that person personally, if they believe that what they are doing is having faith in Jesus, thinking that they are a Christian for their whole life, then when judgement day comes, Jesus will come and look at them and say “I never knew you, depart from me” because that is not what a follower of Christ is, it’s not just giving him one day of your life, but it’s giving every milisecond.

For people who do not believe in Jesus, if they do not see a difference between their life and a so called “Christian” believer’s life, how are they ever going to know the love of Jesus through this person.

The conclusion here them becomes that if you think that you can be a follower of Christ on Sundays, and a follower of the World during the week and think that this is what gives you salvation, this leads to both people pulling away from Christ and into the hands of the devil and then not inheriting the kingdom of God, not experiencing the goodness of God’s glory but rather his wrath for eternity.

But if we are honest about ourselves, I’m willing to say that we’ve done this and felt like this at least once in our life. And this is something we don’t want to do right? And if it’s something we don’t want to do, then we ought to fix it ? And so I think in order to do that we have to find out why does it happen?

But why does this happen? Why do Christians do this?

This happens because we are scared, scared of who? Scared of what the world will do to us, how the world will judge us, how the world will look at us, how your friends, how your teachers, how your family, how anyone in this world looks at you. I feel like we’ve all done and felt this in the past.

In the end we are scared of suffering, we are scared of the pain, outcast that will come when you are faced with wordly people and you say that you are a believer of Christ. Because they will definitely see you differently, they will treat you differently and this is way more often that not, a negative reaction from them.

And theres 2 things that you in this situation will do, you will either express your faith to them and experience the suffering/judgement that they will have in their minds, or you will NOT express your faith to them so that you don’t experience this suffering/judgement.

Share about a time when you experienced judgement from other people when you expressed your faith OR Share about a time when you were scared to speak up about your faith

And so we will see that as a believer of Christ in a sinful world that we will suffer, and this suffering is something we HAVE to go through, its something that is non-negotiable.

Alot of us might think that once you believe in Jesus, then everything becomes just magically better, that everything just becomes better in your life. But that is not what the Paul says, in fact he says quite the opposite, it says that you will suffer.

Philippians 1:29–30 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”

And so the question then becomes why do we suffer persecution from the world, why we should endure in this suffering and how should we endure which we will look at in Paul’s eyes, and hopefully reflect what Paul says in our own lives as well.

Why do we as Christians and the church suffer persecution from the world? - “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh”

The World is supposed to not like you

John 15:18–19 ““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Jesus is saying here to expect that suffering will happen. Why? Because if the world hates Jesus, then it will automatically hate you.

Think about it like this, imagine theres like an olympic swimmer from your home country and they’re competing in the finals race against every other country.

Automatically, you feel a sense that you are on the same team as them and at the same time you also feel a sense that you are an enemy to the other countries.

But interestingly as well, you also feel like you are on the same team with other people that are supporting that one person, and in the same way you also feel a sense of competitiveness and also treat other people who support other countries as enemies as well.

This feeling very similar to how the world looks at us. The world will look at Jesus Christ and automatically not like those that support, have faith, and believe in him and if I was to be truly objective I think that makes sense doesn’t it. Of course they won’t because we are literally going against what they believe.

2. What is it that makes the world not like us then, Why does the world hate Christ?

Because it’s telling them that the thing that is so natural and normal to them is inherently wrong. It’s telling them that nothing that they try to do out of their own strength, own will will every amount to anything, in fact it will be worse than nothing, it will be eternal life in hell.

The Gospel is telling people who think power comes from money, status and aura (in the way other people look at them) actually comes from being humble, serving others, loving others who have done wrong to you.

The Gospel is saying that the most Jesus who is a King didn’t come to be served, but came to serve.

The Gospel is saying to let everything go of this world which they think is everything, and follow someone who suffered their whole life where in their eyes looks like he’s losing every single day.

In the end, what the world thinks is that they are powerful, can do whatever they want for themselves and this is what they think gives them happiness and fulfilment, whilst followers of Christ believe that we are so weak that we need a saviour to help us and this is what gives us true joy and peace because we realise that we can do nothing by ourselves.

And so we have to expect that this suffering will come our way because expecting that something will happen takes away the uncertainty of situations when it does happen and then it doesn’t hit you as hard. I think I mentioned this before in a previous sermon but a very large portion of a suffering experience is attributed to the fact that it was unexpected and not the actual situation itself.

Its like training to become a professional sports player. If you don’t expect alot of suffering and I mean alot, then you will quit because you didn’t expect it and it shocked you. But if you go into it knowing how hard it will be, you will still suffer no doubt about it, BUT you endure because you expected it to be this way and you keep on going.

And so just like a person training to be a professional has the hope of becoming one and is willing and expects to go through this suffering, why should we as Christians endure this persecution from the world and be willing? Because just as the professional has a hope of becoming one, we also have a hope

Why should we endure this suffering? - so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

Well okay, this just looks like too much, like why would I want to do this, why would I willingly want to go through this ?

Lets look at what Paul says about this and see his suffering in our title passage Galatians 6:17 “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

What were some of these marks on Paul ?

2 Corinthians 11:24–27 “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”

So we look at this and ask ourselves why would someone want to go through all of this. And the only reason you will decide to endure the suffering is because you yourself think that it is worth it - because you will not suffer for anything if it is not worth it, you will just give up because you see no reason for you to continue on suffering.

Why is Jesus worth it then? Why should I give up my life for him, Why should I experience persecution for him?

Our hope to inherit the kingdom of God

Matthew 5:11–12 ““Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Notice how Jesus says “when”, instead of “if” - meaning Jesus says it will inevitably happen and its just a matter of when it will happen, but he’s saying that it will.

And so WHEN this happens he says rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Because we have a hope, this reward of a new heaven and new earth, where there exists no suffering, where there exists nothing bad, where all of us are just so happy and get to experience the glory of a good God for eternity. Anything that you think of is suffering in your life is gone and not just for a little while, but for ETERNITY.

Lets look at Paul specifically where he says in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

“Light momentary affliction” - I had a think as to why he would be saying “light” and “momentary”. Then I came to realise that Paul sees all these things, all those marks of Jesus, the suffering and pain he went through as “light” and “momentary” and we find that hard to believe right. It’s almost like it should be “heavy” and “ongoing forever”.

But Paul thinks of what he is going through as “light” and “momentary” for 2 reasons:

He understands that the wrath of God is what is truly “heavy” and “ongoing forever”, that if he doesn’t remain faithful to Jesus, the pain that he is going through in this world is literally nothing compared to pain and suffering he would would receive if his sins were not paid for by Jesus and he had to pay for it himself

On the other hand, Paul knew that no matter how much it hurt in the here and now, it was nothing compared to the hope and healing that he would experience for eternity in the presence of God.

Let me put it to you like this, the life we live on this earth is around 80 years give or take. It does seem like a long time if you think about it, I bet you don’t even think about what you’re going to think about when you are like 70 at your age, most of you don’t even know what you want to do at university.

But do you know how long eternity is? - Explain using the line around the earth a billion times example, and 80 years is like a short time.

And so in this big picture, you ask yourself this question, Am i willing to suffer and remain faithful for this 80 years in order to inherit the kingdom of God which is eternal, or am I going to give in to the world and maybe not suffer in the world, but still experience eternal suffering for eternity. Faith and logic combined tells me, and I’m sure all of you the first one.

And so Paul in all his sufferings that we saw - being whipped, stoned, shipwrecked, dangers from everyone, often without food this is what he says near his death:

2 Timothy 4:7–8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Paul’s reason for enduring all this suffering, fighting the good fight is because he knows the reward that will await him. The crown of righteousness, being like Jesus and restoration of the very thing that we need which is an intimate relationship with God the father forever.

And at the very end, he says “not only to me, but also to all those who have loved his appearing” meaning if you guys also fight the good fight, finish this race that will be hard and keep your faith in Jesus, you will also receive this crown of righteousness.

And so why should we endure? Because our purpose isn’t dependent on the near future (which is the rest of our earthly lives), but is dependent on what follows after which is the new heaven and new earth that God is preparing for us.

But its obviously hard, theres no doubt about it and so How do we endure? -”arm yourselves with the same way of thinking”

Shifting our perspective on what is absolutely a gain and loss (Remember what Pastor Ali mentioned with Relative and absolute)

Paul says in Philippians 3:7 “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Where he talks about that whatever gain he had in his previous life before he met Christ (as a Pharisee) where he gained respect from other people, where obeying the law meant that he would be saved, where persecuting christians was a good thing in his eyes was all useless. And he says that because he realises after he met Jesus, that those things were actually dragging him away from Christ and therefore a loss.

Why? Because he knew what the actual gain in his life was, not the fake gain that changes it’s definition to whoever you ask because it will always be different, but what the actual (Absolute) gain is which is remaining faithful in Jesus.

In the same way for you guys, whatever you guys think is a gain - whether it be getting a high mark, or being well-known at school is actually a loss in reality (and even the fact that I even had to say “OR” proves that we all have different perspectives/definitions on what this gain is). Because these things are taking your focus, these things are dragging you away from the one thing that is truly important for our lives which is Jesus and therefore in reality being a loss whether you realise it or not.

And so if we change our perspective to realise that the what the World tells you is a gain is actually a loss, and what Jesus tells you is the truth, the ability to endure against this persecution increases because you start to realise that those things you previously thought was a gain was actually useless. I’m not going to say that it still isn’t hard, but I will say that it gets easier.

Realise that suffering for Jesus actually increases your relationship with Jesus

One thing that I prayed for at the start of this year was for myself to experience more suffering - now this was definitely not in the way of “i like pain” because thats not good at all, but with the intention and realisation that actually suffering for Jesus drastically increases your dependence on God.

You might be sitting there thinking this guy is crazy, like how does that work? Because what happens is that you start to really experience and feel what Jesus actually went through his life which then what happens is then you realise how much he actually did for you and then you realise that suffering for Jesus is actually a gain.

Paul mentions this in 2 Corinthians 1:5 “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

Where he says that we will suffer, but that it actually brings comfort because Paul recognises that being persecuted in fact brings him comfort because I think a good indicator for us to see if we are boldy proclaiming Jesus in the world is to see how much we are persecuted. Paul knows how much he is suffering and bullied, but this brings him comfort because the more he gets persecuted the more assurance it gives him that he is suffering for Christ.

Know that your suffering can be a testimony for others and encourage others to believe and remain faithful.

Philippians 1:14 “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

The people who physically see Paul get encouraged because they see him remain confident in the Lord despite his actual circumstance being in the worst position he could ever be in. They not only become more confident in themselves, but they become so confident that they are now able to do the same as what Paul is doing - speaking the word of God out to those who don’t want to without fear.

When I speak about my suffering sometimes especially regarding my family, I hope that some of you who are experiencing the same thing are encouraged to face it, or when Pastor Ali talks about Palestine stories, I hope that there’s something inside of you that can relate to it and get encouraged from it. And I hope when you speak up about your sufferings and proclaiming Jesus as the solution, it can encourage others who are facing the same thing but don’t know how to deal with it.

Praying for yourself and for each other

Pray for yours and each other’s safety from the unbelievers

Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you and others the right words to boldly proclaim the gospel no matter who the person is

Pray that through this suffering we are reminded that it is not in vain, but it is for a purpose to reach all nations

Pray that all believers gain confidence without fear of judgement from other people, remembering that the righteous judge who truly knows the absolute right and wrong is the only one that can judge us

Pray that our lives will bring honor to Christ whether we live or die.

Pray that they will continue to be faithful and endure all persecution and hardship, knowing that joy awaits them on the other side.

Conclusion:

Only you guys know if you act differently in church and outside of church, and maybe it’s something we have all done, I can tell you it’s definitely something I’ve done in the past because of the fact that people will look at me differently, people will not like me if I say that I am. But believing in Jesus is black and white - meaning you either give your life to him, or you don’t and this means that there isn’t a middle ground where you can believe in Jesus and believe in the world, its not possible.

Believing in Jesus means you will suffer more now, but reap the reward of the crown of righteousness for eternity and experience the best thing we could ever feel, but believing in the world means you will suffer less now, but experience God’s wrath for eternity. It’s your choice, but know that Jesus is always running after you to believe in him, know that God wants you to come back to him, he doesn’t want you to experience his wrath but his love, but its your choice. Let us endure in this suffering/persecution for the hope and reward of an eternal life with God the Father.

This is what I’ll leave you with:

Psalm 34:16–22 “The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”

Let us pray