Hope Because of the Testing of God

Outline

4 natural expectations that every child of God should have during our time here on earth

I. God Will Bring Testing of His Children (v. 12, 17)

A. An expected part of life – “Do not be surprised”

“surprised” – to cause a strong psychological reaction through introduction of something new or strange, astonish

B. A part of what God has designed for His people specifically – “time for judgement to begin with the household of God”

Genesis 22:1 - Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

C. A “fiery” ordeal

II. God Will Sift and Refine His Children’s True Allegiances (v. 14-16)

1 Peter 4:14-16 - If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

A. The primary testing or suffering that is revealing in our lives is because of a specific identity that we claim.

1. Reviled for the name of Christ

2. Suffers as a Christian

3. Glorify God in this name

Matthew 7:21-23 - Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

B. The suffering because of natural consequence of sinful choices (murderer, thief, evildoer, troublesome meddler) while instructive to us is not revealing of our professed identity.

1 Peter 2:20 - For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?

1 Peter 3:17 - For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

“Believers who are facing unjust suffering, are to look to the example of Christ who amidst unjust suffering died in the flesh (his body) to the world of the flesh (the world’s value system) and was raised to new life (and new value system). So also, you are to die to your natural responses during unjust suffering to bring forth true, supernatural, spiritual life.

I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence of God’s commitment to my dying; and I must seize upon every God-given opportunity to be conformed more fully to Christ’s death, no matter the pain involved.

When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die. When called to do something I don’t want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die. When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die. When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die. When wishing to keep besetting sins secret, I must die. When wants that are borderline needs are left unmet, I must die. When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.

‘Not My will, but Yours be done,’ Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion; and preaching His story to myself each day puts me in a frame of mind to trust God and embrace the cross of my own dying also.” (“All Things Crucified, Part I,” Gospel Primer, Milton Vincent)

III. God’s Life of Faith Growing in His Children Is Part of Your Assurance (v. 13, 14, 16, 18)

• “At the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation”
• “You are blessed”
• “The Spirit of His glory and of God rests on you”

IV. God Will Do What Is Right Through the Testing (v. 19)

1 Peter 4:19 - Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

1 Peter 2:4-7 - And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe.

A few weeks ago, some of you know that an accreditation team came to perform its five-year visit to Faith Bible Seminary.

Those of you who are in education know what a process like this entails.

Before the team arrived, the FBS administrators were preparing documentation on how FBS met the accrediting standards.

That document was nearly 350 pages long and with and additional supporting documents of 1000’s of pages.

I’m thankful to say that FBS received 6 commendations.

I was informed that the normal is 2-3. So, I take this as encouraging. But who knows, they probably say this to all their paying customers 😊.

We received 7 ways that we need to improve.

We will get to work on those 7 ways and then next year we will hear if we have received a 10-year accreditation renewal.

I suspect that we will. There was nothing in those 7 ways of improvement that cannot be implemented.

So, I invite you to thank the Lord with me for his good favor.

Now, with a little hyperbole intended, the rigorous accreditation process is like the invasive medical inspection procedures that those over 50 are required to receive to determine if you are healthy.

Those over 50 you know what I mean.

The difference is that at least at the hospital you get a happy drug and sleep through the procedure.

There was no happy drug administered to me during accreditation.

A team of six individuals came and inspected every nook and cranny of FBS for 48 hours.

And who oversees FBS? That would be me.

So my life’s work is under the microscope for these 48 hours, probing, prodding, questioning.

The accreditation team all performed their scrutinizing tasks with professionalism and kindness.

But a kind and professional invasive procedure is still an invasive procedure.

After the first day of scrutiny, I came home exhausted, having had to produce more documentation, evidence, and justification for meeting the standards….I found myself thinking, I don’t want to go into the next day. What will they find? What if they find an FBS weakness in this area or that?

I turned to the Lord and remembered this is what they are here for…

They are here to probe and prod to see if FBS has weaknesses that will harm FBS and its constituents.

…and if they find weaknesses, I need to know.

I need to set my face toward the scrutiny….

They are here to see if FBS is the real deal.

Why should I be surprised at this scrutiny?!!

The first thing in the morning, I met the team and prayed for them.

Although they had the authority to do this anyway, I invited them at any point to meet with me again. All six of them at any time, I invited it.

Later that morning, I heard that they were hoping to wrap up their work by 2:30 that afternoon.

My last scheduled meeting with them had ended at 11:30am in the morning.

I remember going back to my office and thinking 2:30 please come in a hurry, I don’t want to be poked and scrutinize anymore.

I thought what if I just slip out of the building from now until 2:30 and nobody knows where I am. Then they cannot ask me anymore.

Then I came back to reality, “Brent, you are the CEO, you cannot hide!! Even if I slip out of the building, I will have to stand and face the scrutiny to determine if FBS is the real deal or not.”

This is inescapable.

There is no where to hide!

This is the testing that is necessary to show forth that FBS is meeting the standards.

After what seemed like three days and nights in the grave, 2:30 came with very little poking and scrutiny. I was relieved.

After the team’s report to me the next day hearing the commendations and recommendation, my assurance was bolstered that FBS had been tried and tested and we are on the right track.

Point: Folks there is something much more important to be shown as authentic and real than the education at Faith Bible Seminary.

Question: What is that? Your professed faith!

In one limited sense, Christianity can be attractive to the masses because, Christianity says, “The good news is that you believe that Jesus Christ raise saved you from your sins and if you believe that you are saved from Hell.”

• You mean I don’t have to perform to get to heaven? No!
• You mean I don’t have to appease an angry God to get to heaven? No!
• You mean I don’t have to do penance to get to heaven? No.
• But You do have to have genuine faith!

There could be many who have said the sinner’s prayer thinking that it was their ticket to heaven.

And that confession faith expressed in the sinner’s prayer will be tested

We should not be surprised when the heavenly accreditation team visits us to see if we are the real deal.

With those thoughts in mind please turn to I Peter 4 verses 12–19 on page 182 in the back section of the bible in the chair in front of you.

We are continuing our series this morning on Hope for Everyday Life

And this morning we are discussing, Hope Because of the Testing of God

Hear the Word of God this morning starting in I Peter 4:12

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³ but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, (Christ has partook of the fellowship of our suffering and it is now ours to partake of the fellowship of His) keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

¹⁴ If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

¹⁵ Make sure that none of you suffers

as a murderer,

or thief,

or evildoer,

or a troublesome meddler;

¹⁶ but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God;

and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸ And if it is with (through) difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

¹⁹ Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

This morning we are developing,

Four natural expectations that every child of God should have during our time here on earth.

These four expectations are the way God has designed his world.

We should expect these just like we expect the sun to rise and set every day.

Just as we would not say…“oh wow would you look at that, I did not expect the sun to come up today and there it is. I’m shocked!”

These expectations are like the rising and setting sun…

The first natural expectation is….

I. God will bring testing of His children (v. 12, 17)

Say, “I will not be surprised that ….God will bring testing of His children”

God’s testing is…

An expected part of life—“Do not be surprised”

“surprised”—to cause a strong psychological reaction through introduction of someth. new or strange, astonish

Friends, the testing of God should not be something new or strange to us.

Testing is something embedded in the fabric of our world.

All of you expect testing in other contexts!

For example, right now you are sitting in a building that has 1986 (FE) (or FW 2013) building standards in it.

There was a testing and inspection so that this building doesn’t collapse on your head.

You want this building to have been tested and to have met the standards for occupation.

An unimaginable number, 60,000 people died in the Syrian/Turkey earthquake this year. Now, that was a severe earthquake but in part, the magnitude of the death was, again, I say, in part, because of poor untested construction.

Testing is a part of reality and if it does not take place there is more hurt and pain in our already broken world

And you want testing!!!—young men when you buy that diamond ring for that fiancé’ what do you want? Cubic Zirconia?!—a diamond simulant or the real thing?

Do you want your meat at the grocery store to be tested to be USDA?

Do you want your dollar bills to be the real thing or counterfeit?

• What do you want for your engineers?

• What do you want for your doctors?

• What do you want for your airline pilots?

• What do you want for you pastors?

But when it comes to ourselves….what do you want for yourself? No testing!!!

When it comes to trials and sufferings, we have lost the battle already when we are shocked as if what we are facing is a strange thing…a hostile force that has invaded our existence. A thief that has entered our home…

We will spend all kinds of time in self-pity about how a particular circumstance happened to me and every moment spent there is a moment wasted in what the test is for….

It’s kind of like when you sit down to take a test at school and you have an hour to do it and you spend the first 55 minutes bemoaning that you have a test!!!

Of course, you are going to fail that test!!!

God says, “DO NOT BE SURPRISED!”

Testing is….

A part of what God has designed for His people specifically —“time for judgement to begin with the household of God”

Is Peter saying that the suffering that we experience is the judgement of God?

Peter, up to this point, has been using terminology like sufferings, trials, testing.

This is the first time he has used the term “judgement.”

“Judgement” is often and rightly used as the term to describe the carrying out of a sentence/a penalty for wrongdoing.

That is NOT how Peter is using the term here.

Peter is not saying, in context, that the various trials we experience are penalties for God’s children’s wrongdoings.

Peter is using the term “judgement” in terms of sifting humanity to render a decision

—not executing a judicial sentence

So, when Peter says, “For it is time for judgement to begin with the household of God,”

Peter is saying, God starts refining, purifying, showing forth those who are genuinely His first.

This is not surprising but expected.

We can see this from the very first book of the Bible

Gen 22:1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

The test for Abraham was whether or not his faith would bridge the gap between two seemingly impossible realities.

• The first—God had given to childless Abraham and Sarah a son through whom God had promised that God would work His redemptive plan

• And second—God’s immediate command to go and kill this precocious and beloved son of the promise.
  
  

Abraham had faced many trials and tests along the way but the narrative arc of Genesis presents this Gen 22 test with Isaac his son as the ultimate test.

In all the other times that God had tested Abraham, you might say he was surprised at the testing and tried to somehow to rationalize his way out of it in various ways (taking Lot with him, giving up Sarah, trying to manipulate God’s promise through Hagar).

And he struggled deeply on his journey to refined faith.

But now, after God gave the command to sacrifice Isaac, the text says, “And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled His donkey.”

Having walked with this God for the past 25 years prior to Gen 22, you could say he was not surprised

No surprise

No shock

As you read the tense and tender Gen 22 passage of a mature Abraham you see that Abraham passed the test.

God showed forth to the world, and to Abraham himself, the refined nature of Abraham’s faith.

And at that moment, the promise of redemption to the world through the seed of Abraham was sealed!

However, that doesn’t mean that the test for Abraham was easy.

Peter describes each testing as

A “ fiery” ordeal

What does fire do my friends?

You know this…it burns

That burning hurts… there is no doubt about it….

But that burning purifies as well…

In fire, all that is not able to stand up to the burning is left in ashes…showing us that what was burned was ultimately not able to withstand that burning….

Friends when the non-surprising fiery ordeal comes to your life…

You will find out that earthly riches are simply ashes

You will find out that the fame and fortune that we so clamor for are ashes

You will find out that pleasures of this world, certainly we are thankful for them, but they are gone as ash is blown away.

You will find out that the ideal human relationships or romance you have built in your mind or on this earth will not stand the fire. Even if your spouse or friend is loyalty to you, the fire of death with render that person ashes…dust to dust….

When the fire comes….the only thing that is left …is what is pure and refined….what is precious… like gold.

And that leads us here to the second natural expectation….

II. God will sift and refine His children’s true allegiances (v. 14—16) {Kari have the point and scripture come in together}

¹⁴ If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; ¹⁶ but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

For this message at this point, this morning I am talking to those who would consider themselves a Christian.

Note….

The primary testing or suffering that is revealing in our lives is because of a specific identity that we claim.

1. Reviled for the name of Christ

1. Suffers as a Christian

1. Glorify God in this name

Your professed identity as a Christian, in the name of Christ will be tested…

You claim you are a Christian…

You bear the name of Christ…

What and where are your loyalties..are they to Christ or something/someone else

There are real Christians and there are individuals who claim to be Christians that are not.

One of the most sobering passages in the NT is in the sermon on the mount

Matthew 7:21–23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Your identity and faith in Christ will be tested

I want you to recognize that God is not so concerned about your engineering skills that need to build good buildings….

But He will test how you function as a Christian in your engineering profession…do you bear the name Christ and do your work with Christlike values?

Doctors…God is not so concern that you have the wisdom of the greatest physician but do you have the wisdom appropriate to a Christian Doctor to handle relationships with Christlike compassion and care

Factory worker, God is not so concern that you have the ability to be the fastest assembly line person but do you bear the name of Christ and function like Christ would on that assembly line….

Same is true for Christian Husband…

Christian Parent

Christian School teacher….

Christian Pastors….

Please note that…

The suffering because of natural consequence of sinful choices (murderer, thief, evildoer, troublesome meddler) while instructive to us is not revealing of our professed identity.

Notice that Peter says do not be ashamed if you suffer as a Christian…implication???…if you suffer as a murderer, thief, evildoer, troublesome meddler, and you experience difficult consequences for that you should rightly be ashamed.

God has saved you for transformation into something different.

Peter as been saying this all along

Remember these words?

1 Peter 2: 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

So what is real tested faith friends?

Let’s start here with this…most of you here bear the name Christian, correct?

That means you identify with Christ on the cross

Why did He die?

In my sermon, Hope for True spiritual life a few weeks back on that particular difficult passage in I Peter 3, I explained the following:

Believers who are facing unjust suffering, are to look to the example of Christ who amidst unjust suffering died in the flesh (his body) to the world of the flesh (the world’s value system) and was raised to new life (and new value system). So also, you are to die to your natural responses during unjust suffering to bring forth true, supernatural, spiritual life.

What does true faith look like….??

Are you a Christian?

Then when your identity in Christ is tested by being reviled—do you put to death the natural response for revenge, because you died to that, and you bring forth compassion for your enemy?

Do you? This is testing of your faith!

Expect this!

For Brent as a president of FBS and when FBS is undergoing accreditation scrutiny—nobody can call this unjust suffering—but it is testing…

If I call myself a Christian CEO of a Christian organization that is undergoing a testing…true faith has to mean something like this…I died with Christ to hiding FBS’ weaknesses, to putting forth a false image and I invite the scrutiny…because I believe this is righteous and the will of God!

If I call myself a Christian student and the professor mocks my faith in front of the class….I resist the temptation to slander the professor on social media and perhaps I invite him over to dinner to be a blessing to the professor.

If I call myself a Christian spouse, I resist the temptation to focus on my spouses faults…but I ensure that I handle mine.

If I call myself a Christian parent, I die to the lust to parent by convenience through scolding and anger and my faith comes out in shepherding my children’s heart in truth spoken in love.

If I call myself a Christian friend, and I am sinned against…oh my…true faith has to issue in the willingness to forgive…that precisely identifies with Christ……

We should expect marital testing

We should expect parenting testing

We should expect job testing, relationship testing…testing your faith as a professed believer….

Milton Vincent’s Gospel primer has been a life giving source to my spiritual life.

Notice Milton Vincent’s exhortation on what we (believers) should expect

I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence of God’s commitment to my dying; and I must seize upon every God-given opportunity to be conformed more fully to Christ’s death, no matter the pain involved.

When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die. When called to do something I don’t want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die. When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die. When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die. When wishing to keep besetting sins secret, I must die. When wants that are borderline needs are left unmet, I must die. When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.

“Not My will, but Yours be done,” Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion; and preaching His story to myself each day puts me in a frame of mind to trust God and embrace the cross of my own dying also.—“All Things Crucified, Part I,” Gospel Primer, Milton Vincent

Third, I want you to see as this testing produces death to the old man ways and brings forth new real faith overtime….

Expect that

III. God’s life of faith growing in His children is part your assurance (v. 13, 14, 16, 18)

Through his letter, Peter has been saying some of the most paradoxical things…and he continues in our passage….

Sharing in the testing, the suffering, dying to the old way of responding and bring forth the new spiritual life that God has for us is part of our assurance that we identity is authentic!

That we are the real deal

That we are true children of God

• • “At the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation”

Why? You will be there with God!

• • “You are blessed”
  • “The Spirit of His glory and of God rests of you”

As your faith is purified, refined, and put on display notice that Peter says… “THE SPIRIT OF GOD RESTS ON YOU”

I will never forget an individual that I had the privilege of counseling.

This young man was not a member of our church.

But he was a professing believer. That is, he bore the name of Christ.

He came to me with doubts about the Bible and Christianity

At first, I entertained his questions about so-called Bible contradictions, creation/evolution, the so-called problem of evil.

Then I asked him about his personal walk with God. As a young man, he was sleeping with girlfriend.

I begin to challenge him on this, and he stopped.

I noticed that his questions about Christianity evaporated.

Until one day, he came to me and I said, I’m struggling with my doubts again.

I asked him one question, are you sleeping with your girl friend. He said, “yes”

And I said, it is no wonder you are struggling.

I have had occasion to watch the arc of that man’s life and God has continually tested him and frankly he has suffered as an evildoer and not as a Christian.

I ultimately do not know if he is a Christian…But expect as naturally as the sun rises that if you bear the name Christian…God will test you…

Testing starts with the household of God….

Fourthly and finally, expect that

IV. God will do what is right through the testing (v. 19)

{Kari have the point and scripture come in together}

¹⁹ Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Friends, that fascinating phrase that Peter uses in this text…

“Judgement/sifting/testing begins with the household of God”

In the Old Testament what was the household of God?

It was the temple.

Many of the OT individuals came to put their trust in that system of sacrifices, and that physical building instead of the God of that building.

In essence their faith was resting in something fallible that could not stand the fires of testing.

There was a time in OT redemptive history where that temple and the city of Jerusalem were thought to be unbreachable and would never fail.

God send the fires of testing upon Jerusalem and that household of God.

Do you know what happened?

The city of Jerusalem, and the temple were burnt to ashes…

Eventually, God permitted the temple and city to be rebuilt.

And eventually, the people started to put their trust in this new temple and city.

Do you know what happened to the new city/temple?

In 70 AD probably a decade after Peter is writing this letter, Rome set fire to the temple/city…what is left ashes….

Is there a household of God that would not be consumed by the testing?

Is there any hope for the people of God to not be reduced to ashes but come forth as gold?

Peter makes an astounding statement regarding the household of God that we studied earlier:

1 Peter 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,5you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 7This precious value, then, is for you who believe.

Do you understand that we have a forerunner, the cornerstone of our household. That forerunner, went through the fires of testing. That house hold of God was tested.

Question: When God tested that forerunner, was he ultimately and finally consumed, reduced to ashes, found to be not the real deal?

No, He, Jesus Christ survived the testing and God did the right thing and vindicated Him for all to see…This one is the real deal.

And that one is committed to doing the right thing by you in your testing..

Oh friend you will not be disappointed!

Expect the testing, expect the refining of your allegiances as you bear the name Christ, know this is part of the assurance of your identity…and God promises you, you will not be disappointed, in fact, you will rejoice with joy inexpressible as you are shown forth as the real deal in Christ.

Conclusion—“the House of God” went through the most rigorous judgement/testing and came forth—Jesus Christ.