Following Jesus When Faced with Suffering

Good morning and welcome back.

I hope you had a blessed week and you are ready to dig into God’s word together. That’s a good hope…

What else did I hope for? I had hoped that, as much as I like the Georgia Bulldogs, I had hoped that the football game Monday would have been more competitive, but at least we have the NFL playoffs starting today so you might be hoping like me for the Vikings to finally win their first ever Superbowl or if you are a Bears fan, you find your hope in having the first pick in next year’s Draft…

That’s a lot of hope…or at least it is a lot of ways to use the word hope…but there is one thing that is not included in any of it…it is not a biblical hope

As we step out with our new theme of Hope for Everyday Life, I think it is important to understand what is and is not hope…

The world defines hope as a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen…

There are a lot of things that we would say that we hope for…but under this definition we are simply listing the things that we want to happen…

For example, you might hope that I will finish my sermon in only 20 minutes today…but you would also likely say that you don’t have very much hope for that because I haven’t finished a sermon in 20 minutes, well, ever…

Now if we stay limited to this definition – our hope will end up all over the page…and unfulfilled hopes will grow to the point where we will no longer even hope for the little things, because we just don’t want to be disappointed.

But that is not the prayer for our church this year…As we seek Hope for Everyday Life, we are looking for something more than a hope that depends on this world…we pray along with the apostle Paul that

Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our prayer is that our hope will grow and abound, filling you with all joy and peace because the Hope for Everyday life that we seek is the confidence that when we consider God’s faithful actions towards us and the trustworthiness of His promises, we can trust that His faithful followers will experience the fullness of God’s goodness both now and in the future…

That is the Hope for Everyday life that I am looking to grow in this coming year…

To start this year, we will be walking along with another NT writer. In the past few years, we have spent time with Paul and with John.

This year as we find Hope for Everyday Life in God’s word, we will find it by exploring the letters of Peter, and specifically, we will begin by studying the letter of 1 Peter.

Like the last couple of years, In order that we can walk through the letter from the front to back, we have the unique opportunity to begin the series on 1 Peter two weeks after Faith East…They are jumping in today on 1 Peter 1:1-2. We will hear that sermon in two weeks.

What that does for us is open the door for us to spend a little time studying Peter and his life and ministry to help us better understand his writings.

Today we will be looking at John 21 to explore what it means to find Hope by Following Jesus when Faced with Suffering.

To understand Peter, we should first look at who he was before He met Jesus…

• He was a fisherman, along with his brother Andrew. He was married and appears to have had a life that many in his day would have desired. He was not a scholar, but he did know enough about scripture to have hope for the coming of the Messiah.

• Peter had heard Jesus’s teaching and even experienced his power to the point he fell at Jesus’s feet said “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

• But instead of leaving, Jesus said…

Matt 4:19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

• Peter became one of Jesus’s closest friends and disciples. He was always among those whom Jesus included first.

• Peter was there when Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead – and he was allowed to tell no one

• Peter was with Jesus at the transfiguration to see his glory – and allowed to tell no one…

Peter had a special place in the ministry…but let’s not forget…

• Peter was also the one rebuked after Jesus told them of his coming death.

• Peter was one of the three to fall asleep waiting for Jesus in the garden

• And Peter was the one who denied even knowing Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times just as Jesus said he would…

That is the Peter we will meet today on the beach after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior.

Jesus had appeared to the disciples twice in the upper room, where they had stayed behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. Having seen Jesus, they had returned to the Sea of Galilee where they had first met Jesus and they returned to fishing.

READ John 21 (key verses 1-17, then all of 18-25)

While rejoicing in the resurrection – I can only imagine that having Jesus so quickly turn to point to one’s death, and not a pretty death either… that would have been a bit shocking to now consider that the persecution of Christ was now coming Peter’s way…

As such with the time that we have remaining, as we break down this text and look at the life of Peter after the resurrection - I want us to see

3 Truths to Remember when persecution because of Jesus comes

The first truth that we must consider is that…

I. Suffering and Persecution is promised to all

To understand how Peter would respond to this truth about himself, we need to consider how Peter responded earlier when hearing the truth about Christ’s suffering and death…

The night before his arrest and murder at the hands of the Romans, Jesus was telling the disciples what was to come and…

“Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.” (John 13:36–38,)

And of course, this is exactly what happened… out of fear he denied even knowing Jesus...undone by a little slave girl who said she recognized him…

“And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:72–75)

I don’t share this to throw Peter under the proverbial bus saying surely, I, Pastor Rod would have done so much better…

In fact, even today, without the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, each one of us would do the same…

Consider how that would have weighed upon Peter’s heart even after the resurrection. Seeing Jesus, Peter dove out of the boat to get back to his Lord in that moment, but his heart had to wonder, how could the Lord use him today when he had denied his Lord in his greatest moment of need…

Many scholars believe this is why Jesus asked Peter three times – Do you love me? Not so that Jesus could be sure, but so that Peter could know that his relationship with Jesus had been restored.

Like Peter, without the grace of God, we would all be separated from the Lord, but by His grace, Peter was restored…by His grace – you and I can be redeemed and we can be ready to face the future…even a future that we might not choose for ourselves.

Peter had been zealous for Christ from the first day, and I believe his heart wanted nothing more than to follow Christ…but I am guessing that Peter did not expect what he was about to hear…

““Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”” (John 21:18–19)

The same as the first day they met, the invitation - Follow me – again Jesus invites Peter to follow him, this time with a better understanding of what would come…

And what we end up seeing then is

Peter’s Life is full of suffering

Through God’s grace, Peter’s faith did not just prepare him for death, but also for a life of suffering.

We need to know that Peter’s ability to respond did not come from his own strength…it did not come from learned experience so he might choose differently, but rather it came from a promise which God would fulfill.

Consider the change that happen.

• Upon Jesus’s arrest, the disciples scattered

• After his death, they locked themselves in a room

• Even after his resurrection and appearing, the disciples still only gathered with one another for prayer and fellowship

Then after the Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit came to indwell Peter and the others, something changed…

• They went from cowering behind closed doors to boldly proclaiming Christ to all who would hear…even at the risk of their own lives

If time allowed we would dig into many more passages about the persecution in Peter’s life – but here is a snapshot to consider

1. Peter beaten by religion leaders—Acts 5:17-41

All because they did not want them teaching in the name of Jesus – yet Peter and the others rejoiced for being considered worthy to suffer shame in Christ’s name

1. Peter in Jail from Herod—Acts 12:1 ff

Here Peter was arrested and chained to his guards for preaching Christ…saved by the angel of the Lord and released – In Herod’s anger – the guards were executed because of Peter’s escape.

1. Ultimately, he was executed

Though Peter’s death is not recorded in scripture, other writings indicate he was martyred in Rome during Nero’s reign…

There may be more time to look at these events in more depth throughout the year, but for now, what we can know is that Peter was promised persecution and he experienced it many times over…

He was told that he would suffer for Christ and he did…

But then for you and me…

Christians are told many things about persecution

There are a lot of things we could consider when it comes to what the church is told about persecution, but I want to focus on 5 things this morning.

There are a number of supporting passages that will be associated with these themes…and I would encourage you to jot these down or save them for a time when you might need them….because there will be a day in your life… when you will need them.

First,

1. Don’t be surprised about it (Jn. 15:20; 1 Jn. 3:13, 1 Pe. 4:12, Ps. 34:19)

Can we all just be honest for a moment that when we face persecution today, and that our persecution barely holds a candle to what the early church went through…yet we are often outraged by the entire experience.

We are surprised that it happens to us…we are shocked.

When we think back to what we were dealing with just one year ago…West Lafayette ordinance 31-21…I spoke to a lot of people about it…we were all surprised and even a bit confused to think that the WL City Council was considering reigning in our liberty of speech and penalizing anyone who would use God’s word to help those who are hurting.

But don’t stop at simply being surprised.

We need to quickly turn to thanksgiving because, remember, persecution is

1. It’s a sign of being a true believer (2 Tim. 2:12, 1 Pe. 4:19)

When we suffer according to the will of God, we entrust our souls to our faithful creator by doing what is right

I can’t unpack this fully…but I offer to each of us. Consider…if you have not suffered for your faith in some way…if there has never been a price for your Christianity that needs to be paid to the world…then you might not be living as a Christian.

I’m not saying that the church should go out trying to stir up suffering to prove ourselves to God and the world and each other…but what I am saying is, that as walk in your faith… if you reflect on your life and there has not been some sort of suffering that has taken place…You might want to ask yourself why.

We also see that….

1. It’s a privilege to suffer for Christ (Phil. 1:29, Mt. 5:10-12, 1 Pe. 4:14, Jas. 1:12)

While that might sound like a strange thing to say…over and over, Scripture provides the picture of one who suffered for their walk with Christ being filled with joy.

You might be asking, why? Why would I choose suffering and be joyful about it…

It must be about the rewards in heaven, right?

I don’t think so. God’s word does describe rewards in heaven…crowns that we may receive – but even that pales in the view of eternal life with Christ

To live is Christ – to die is gain…

Suffering for Christ is a privilege because it provides a sign of assurance to you and others that you are in fact one of the redeemed.

One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to assure us of our salvation…. when you suffer with and for Christ….you have great assurance that you are indeed saved…and the greater that assurance you have…the greater your joy will be.

And that brings hope.

So, dear brothers and sisters…. rather than view it as a negative or bad thing…when you suffer for Christ….will you consider it a privilege?

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Building on that we see that….

1. Persecution is part of sanctification (Rom. 5:3-5, Jas. 1:2-4)

God is continually at work in his children, to grow us., to change us with God’s purpose to make us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, or in other words to make us like Christ…

Think about it – a lump of coal cannot be changed into a diamond by placing it on a museum shelf to be told how wonderful it is, or even to take it out and roll it gently down a grassy hill for fun…No. Diamonds are created through heat and pressure beyond anything the lump of coal would choose for itself.

If you are not finding yourself growing in your walk with Christ, is it because you are avoiding the heat and pressure God will use to make you into a diamond? …perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…

Do we trust that when persecution comes…it’s part of what God is using in our lives to make us more like Christ?

Faith North Family, trust that when you face hard times because of Christ, he is doing something in you…he is working…he is not just allowing random trials in your life.

He is doing something….

But lastly….and perhaps most importantly, let us remember that…

1. No amount of suffering can keep you from Christ (Rom. 8:35-37)

The enemy wants you to fold under the pressure of persecution…he wants you to give up on Christ…

The great lie that is being spoken by Satan is that you are suffering because you are unloved, you are forsaken. and this suffering that you are experiencing is only because you have been abandoned.

But, that is so far from the actual truth of God’s word.

What will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation? Distress? Persecution?

There is no suffering or persecution that can keep you from God.

We are overwhelmingly conquerors through Him who loves us. To me, that brings hope.

So, let us remember that there is a certain amount of persecution that is promised to all Christians.

It was promised to Peter on the beach…. and it is promised to us.

And when we go through these times…let us remember that it is doing something….it has a purpose…it is for our good…and no amount of suffering will ever separate us from the love of God.

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A second truth to remember comes as a corollary to the first….

When we must remember that suffering and persecution are promised to all Christians, that is not to tell us that the same suffering and persecution will come to all.

My natural heart – my flesh would want to repeat what I said as a child – That’s not fair…but let’s not look at what my sinful heart would ask for…let’s consider the truth from what God’s word says…

II. Don’t Compare your life to someone else

“Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”” (John 21:20–21)

Can we all just be honest with ourselves on this one…in the same position, if we were in Peter’s sandals…we would probably say the same thing…

Really Jesus – you’re saying that I am going to die the way you did? What about that guy? I would have probably added, “What about James, and Nathaniel, and Thaddeus?”…listing the whole gang…

My natural inclination – If I have to suffer, it is only fair that everyone else does to…

This idea of fairness creeps into so much of our lives…it is not just our kids

Think about – When Student Loan forgiveness proposals were announced – was my first thought really about the impact on national debt? Or that I am paying for someone else’s tuition

While I was prepping this sermon – I got a call about payroll and making sure everyone got time off on the holidays – and my natural heart thinks –but I didn’t get the holiday because the center had to be open - why do I have to give other people time off?

The idea of “fair” pervades our society today as we look for justice or equity in all things, but it is a concept that we have to caution about how we apply our tiny vision of “fair” and apply it to the kingdom of God.

God’s kingdom does not revolve around my incomplete, flawed view of fairness, but around God’s perfect justice and providence that leads to His Glory.

So when we look at our suffering through our lens of fairness, there is a danger in comparing yourself to others in that you will

You will develop a warped view of God

In the parable of the workers….for instance….the master goes out and hires a number of workers at various intervals throughout the day.

Some for a full day and some for just an hour…

At the end…he pays the folks starting with those who worked the shortest to those who worked the longest…and yet he pays them the same amount…each receiving a full day’s wage. Exactly what they were told they would receive…

This of course leads to grumbling…and how the master responds…

How Jesus calls us to think about this topic of fairness should put all of us in our place…

“‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’” (Matthew 20:15,)

Can I just confess that I find myself right there…when I see others being treated in a particular way by God and I am not getting the same that my heart is envious because of God’s generosity.

This is hard…to not look around…to not compare that way that Peter does… to not start questioning God….to not start grumbling…

But what about today…when suffering for Christ hits your life…you may be tempted like Peter…and like me to look around….to cry out and notice that others do not have it hard like you…

Doing this will warp your view of God…doing this will rob you of the joy that we talked about earlier.

Then because our view is warped

It will be hard to be productive for ministry

Paul reminds young Timothy of this when he says in his first letter…

“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching…”(1 Timothy 4:16a)

Notice that he is not telling him to be looking around at others…

you Timothy…you watch you …you watch your teaching…you don’t need to be looking around and comparing yourself to others and what they are doing and how God is working over there.

Why?….because if you spend all your time comparing and complaining…you will not be able to get anything done for God.

So, when you in the midst of suffering and you find the temptation to look around…Remember…

God’s plan for your life is perfect

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;” (Romans 8:28–29)

While this verse is well known and loved around here…I do believe that it provides us with the appropriate answer to the struggle of comparison that we all face.

Do you believe…Do you believe God’s plan for your life is perfect?

If you could change one outcome in your life….how it has unfolded in the past…how it is going right now…or will go in the future….Do you believe that you could actually improve your life?

If only I could take away that time when…fill in the blank with the hardest time in your life…

That is not to say that I cannot think of decisions in my past that I would not do differently, but we are talking about God’s plan and how he has used my good and bad decisions ultimately for my good

To the degree that you believe even for a moment that you could improve upon God’s plan for your life…That is the degree that your vision of God is small and needs to change.

When you are tempted to look around….to see how life is going for those around you…to complain and murmur against God…

Remind yourself that God’s plan…his use of this suffering and pain in your life is for the glorification of His name…

There is no more perfect plan than his plan for your life.

but that is not the way that I always find myself thinking – How about you?

If we all struggle here, then

• this is why You need your brother and sisters in Christ to help remind you of these truths…

• you need someone walking with you when you are tempted to look around and to compare….

• you need someone in your life to remind you that God’s plan is perfect…

• you need someone to challenge you when your view of God is warped.

So, it is a new year and this is a great time to take a step in applying God’s word…

Let me encourage every single person in this room to get into some sort of small group community where folks will know you…they will know your struggle…they will know when you are in deep waters…and they can help point you to truth.

Men – there are Point Man Groups that meet every day of the week all across town.

Ladies – we have women’s Bible Studies as well as groups like Mom to Mom or other FCI classes…

For all of us, we also have Faith Groups that meet here at the Northend or in people’s homes…see Pastor David

The point being…I believe that every person in this room, regardless of what you have going on…you should be in a small group…

I also think that this is a good time, as we reflect on this promise of God…and this truth…to commit ourselves to reading God’s word faithfully.

When we face suffering and persecution – it is in Him that we find refuge…it is in His word that we will find the truths that sustain us.

So let me just challenge you to do something that perhaps you have never done before…Read God’s Word from cover to cover. It can be done in one year by reading about 20-30 minutes a day. Are you willing to give up 30 minutes of YouTube or Netflix for the living water of God’s Word?

There are so many different plans that exist…the key is to choose to be faithful to the plan…it can be transformative.

Dear Brothers and Sisters….

• you will face trials…those trials are a privilege

• you will be tempted to look around when life is hard and you will want to compare…

• but in that moment, we are called to remember the precious promise of God that his will is perfect and best.

Lastly…let us in these times….

III. Focus on Faithfully Following Him

“Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”” (John 21:22)

What a powerful question…what is that to you?

Just pause and get that scene in your mind…get the powerful rebuke of that question…what is that to you?

And then, with a tender but firm movement…you follow me.

Church family…that is our call from God….you…you….follow me.

How many hours do we devote to following the things of this world…thinking about things and people that should not occupy our minds?

Or how much time do we spend just doing what I want to do – I will follow me…

How many grumbles and complaints would be solved simply by obeying these words…YOU FOLLOW ME.

Let that command sink in as you look around in your life…YOU FOLLOW ME.

And in doing so…know that

God will reward your faithfulness

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

This life and its suffering for Christ are hard…there is no use in pretending that the suffering that we are going through when we follow Jesus is not a thing….

Instead of ignoring or escaping…we should choose to seek peace over turmoil by reminding ourselves that God will reward our faithfulness…we can have hope knowing that in the midst of our suffering for Christ … one day…he will reward that.

And because of his promises – focusing on them will draw our hearts to be

Looking forward to Heaven (2 Cor. 4:17)

One of the great solutions to the problems of this life is to look toward Heaven.

If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next... It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth "thrown in": aim at earth and you will get neither. —C.S. Lewis

As we go through life and face trials and temptations to abandon Jesus…let us remember that.

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Let us encourage one another to long for Heaven. Let us remind one another of the great and glorious future together…

Let us in the midst of persecution cling to God’s words…He is simply saying – Follow Me.