Suffering with your comrades in arms
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:8-11
Title: Suffering with your comrades in arms – 1 Peter 4:7-11
Introduction: On Jan. 16, 1995, Rachel Barton, of Illinois, commuted home on the train. Slung over her shoulder was her Amati violin, worth three thousand dollars, on loan from a benefactor. Rachel is a violin prodigy who first appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony at age eight
The train stopped at the Elm Street station, and as Rachel exited, tragedy struck. Somehow she got caught in the door and was dragged beneath the train for several hundred feet before a bystander herd her screams and notified a railroad official to stop the train. The huge wheels severed her leg below the knee and seriously damaged the right leg.
Two month and 8 surgeries later, Rachel Barton held a press conference. Sitting in a wheel chair, beaming a beautiful smile, and wearing a glowing red dress, she talked of her plans to walk again, and to perform with the violin in the fall. She was already practicing on her violin several hours a day. “In the years to come,” she said, “I hope to be known for my music, not my injuries.”
Central Idea: The wise follower of God will foresee the value of suffering for and with the body of Christ.
Main Transition: For over two month we have looked at submission and suffering. This morning Peter pulls us up from the grind and gives us some perspective. We need to understand where we are going and why we are doing what we are doing. So Peter reminds us to recognize the times that we live in. This helps us focus on when we are suffering and submitting, then he reminds us that we are living in the family of God. This instructs us who we are to be practicing suffering and submitting with, and finally why we suffer and submit is out our stewardship for the Glory of God.
I. Recognizing the times (7)
A. Understanding the day we live in
1. We left of last week in verse 6 which Peter refers to the dead, while keeping that same understanding we are reminded of the coming of the Lord.
2. The end of the age is at hand, we sing some of the most joyous hymns about the rapture and the coming of the Lord, we are exciting about going home
Application: What Peter is about to say is nearly 2000 years old, but that means that the end of the age is 2000 times closer than it was then. There has been no time in history that the stage has been set any better for the return of the Lord.
B. Watch your testimony
1. Recognizing the times means that we are preparing every day to be ushered into eternity, this requires that we be of sound judgment
a. This word means that we are self controlled –
Illustration: We as Christians do not need to run around like Chicken Little yelling the sky is falling, or like the environmentalists who run around with emissions detectors and cry over global warming. We know what is going to happen and we know that these are signs of the times
2. Recognizing the times also requires that we have a sober spirit
a. This word means that we are to have a clear mind – we know what is ahead and we are not clouded by panic, but ready to share the gospel with clarity and precision
C. Guard your prayer life
1. Recognizing the times, being self controlled and clear minded, is all for the purpose of prayer.
2. The ESV says it is for “the sake of your prayers”
Illustration: John MacArthur brings life to this by saying, “A mind victimized by emotion and passion, out of control, or knocked out of balance by worldly lusts and pursuits, is a mind that cannot know the fullness of holy communion in prayer with God. A mind fixed on His return is purified and enjoys the fullness of fellowship with the Lord.”
3. Peter is reminding us that suffering will no doubt happen, and as the end of the age nears sufferings will increase, but you have an eternal perspective
Transition: Peter is calling us to look up from the grind of life and even the grind of trying to live a Christian life in an ungodly world, notice the time around you and look ahead to eternity. As the world unravels the believer is steadfast because of the Savior and their eternal perspective. But in light of that we are not independent souls, but we belong to the family of God, and living in that family takes work.
II. Living in the family of God (8-9)
A. Loving each other
1. Now that we have looked up from the rigors of life Peter realigns our actions into their proper biblical place.
a. Right in the middle of his teaching of suffering Peter brings up the family of God – We are saying, it’s the family of God that causes me to suffer!!
b. Peter says above all – or before anything else – put the first things first – in your living, loving the members of the family of God should be a priority.
2. We are to love fervently
a. This is an athletic term which means strained and intense.
Illustration: We are in an Olympic year so I want you to think back to the Olympic track and the sprinting events that you have seen. The runner steps into the blocks and with the sound of the gun their bodies explode into action, every muscle is stretched, their neck bulges and the veins pop out on their head. Every muscle is pushed to its limit.
b. This is the picture Peter is giving for our love for each other as believers
3. This love is making sure that we are putting the spiritual good of others ahead of our own desires, regardless of being treated unkindly, or even hostile.
B. The power of Christian love
1. When you practice this kind of fervent love you are leaving the punishment of sins with the Lord.
2. This means that sins against you are overlooked and forgiven by you.
3. In other words the grudge you hold against this believer or that believer would be forgiven and is forgiven by you when you are practicing fervent love for each other.
C. Serve with hospitality
1. Peter makes love practical – Peter is challenging us to open our homes to each other, especially those in need or those that are traveling in their service to the Lord.
Application: There are often opportunities to serve the Lord through hospitality, we have missionaries and others who travel through. There are always opportunities to open your home for a Bible study or small group. Or maybe just open your home to other believers for a dinner together.
2. This is to be done without grumbling and complaining.
Transition: Fervent love and hospitality go hand in hand in the body of Christ. They are two areas that we all struggle with often. Peter is reaching us on a personal basis. You will most likely suffer for your faith and when you do you have the body of Christ to rest in. We are told later in Chapter five of this book that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour. There is nothing more inviting to attack from a lion then to be separated from the family. Now Peter adds a second dimension to our understanding.
III. Stewardship for the glory of God (10-11)
A. Refining your special gift
1. Every believer has been equipped by God at the moment of Salvation to be used in the body of Christ. You have a special piece of the puzzle that without it the church cannot function properly.
2. Even scattered as these believers were Peter reminds them that to use that gift to serve each other is to be found faithful in stewardship. Several months ago we spoke on Stewardship, here Peter is referring to the Talents and Time aspect.
3. A spiritual gift is not something that you can earn, the word for gift “chrisma” means that it is a free gift, giving to you by God to be used by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ. Rom. 12 and 1 Cor 12 gives a list of those gifts
B. Use your gift in the body of Christ
1. The gift you have was not given to you to keep it was given to serve the Lord by exercising it in the body of Christ.
2. You have one special gift, usually a blending of several of the gifts to be uniquely yours and to be used to serve the Lord.
3. The struggle that we face in the body of Christ is we like attention, we want to be recognized, but this service is not on our own power, but by the power of God to serve God.
Illustration: I have a cousin who is preparing to enter ministry as a pastor. His mom and I were talking about it one day and she referred to a time she heard him speak. She said it is like he is a different person. The reason is obvious, the words he speaks are not his own. God has granted us his servants the ability to use the gifts he has given to be vessels to accomplish His purposes.
C. Serve others as if you are serving the Lord
1. Your service is to the Lord, your submission is to the Lord, so to is your service.
2. God has given you the opportunity to use what did not belong to you to bring glory to Him. I struggle to place the weight of this into words. God took you, added you to this part of the family of God and equipped you to find lasting joy and fulfillment in serving Him as you minister to each other.
Conclusion: Believer, I trust that you took a moment this morning to stop the rushing grind stone in your life and look up to readjust your priorities. We become swallowed up in our sufferings to the point that we become separated from the pack. When that happens the roaring lion merely rushes in and carries us away. Don’t be a victim of Satan, when the chance to love and serve is what brings glory to God. Keep your focus on the end of the age and the rest of eternity.