Following Jesus When Faced with Suffering

Good morning, Faith Church West.

I want to take a moment and welcome the college students and many of you back to church this Sunday. We have missed having you here and we are so very glad that you are back.

And I want to say a word to those who might be newer or those who are even here for the first time. Welcome so very much! We are glad that you are hear.

During the last quarter of each year….sometime around September/OCT of each year the Pastors of Faith Church begin to plan for the upcoming year what the preaching schedule will look like and what we believe are some of the major areas that we see that as a congregation we would be blessed to study.

This past year as we considered all that that congregation has been going through and will possibly be going through in the future, we believed that it would be best and wisest to study around the theme of

Hope for Everyday Life

The world that we live in is not known for being a hope filled world. Turn on the news and it is not littered with stories of hope…but rather proof positive that the fall of man is real and that the curse of sin is alive.

With that theme in mind, we have determined to study much around the life and ministry of the apostle Peter.

So, next week, for example, Pastor Viars, the Sr. Pastor of Faith Church will be here and he will be launching our study in 1 Peter and as we study that book we will be looking at Hope for Everyday Suffering knowing that for many of us, we will need that type of hope as we seek navigate the difficulties that come with being here.

However, in just how the preaching schedule works, Faith West is always offset from the starting of the series by one week…whereas right now Faith East is starting the series…we have, if you will, a sort of “bi” week.

If you were at the Faith Church North campus this morning, you would have two “bi” weeks.

So…the question is, if we are not going to start our series in 1 Peter…and I am really excited to start that series, then what are we doing to do?

Well…we are going to look at one of the most transformative passages of Scripture when it comes to the life of Peter…frankly, the passage is quite astonishing.

We are going to be looking at John 21.

And as you are turning there…let me ask you for a moment…

Have you ever found yourself guilty of looking around, comparing your situation and your lot to others…and then concluding that the cards that you were dealt were not fair….

For example…let’s say you were driving just a bit over the speed limit on the interstate…oh, for the sake of the story…9 MPH over…and some guy goes flying by you in the other lane…from your perspective you were basically standing still…

Yet within 15 seconds of him zipping by you…you get pulled over by the police…and are starting to think you are getting a ticket…

What is going through your mind at this very moment?

WHAT ABOUT THAT GUY?

I mean like come on…did you see him flying by me?

Let’s be honest for a moment…I think that all of us would be thinking that.

But would that line of logic work with the cop?

Would he turn around and be like…you know… you are right…I shouldn’t be pulling you over…I should be getting him…have a lovely day sir.

Would that matter one bit to the cop? OF COURSE NOT

While what you are saying might be true…that someone else was going faster than you…to the cop in that moment…that does not matter.

While you might learn your lesson for speeding…and slow down…I think that most of us would struggle with a sense of injustice in that moment.

Our notions of fair and right would be taking over…being upset that the cop didn’t stop that other guy…rather you were stopped….for a measly 9 MPH over.

In that moment….our focus should be on us learning the lesson of not speeding…not on anything else. Our focus should be on what God might be doing in our heart and life…not anyone else.

Our passage this morning takes us down a similar logical path…

This passage takes place after the resurrection of Christ.

We are going to read the entire Chapter, but for the purpose of our study, we are going to focus on verse 18-22….

We are going to see Peter really wrestling with the notion of comparison, justice, and focusing on his path that God laid before him…not on what ever he thinks is best for him…

Please follow along with me as we read, and we look at Following Jesus when faced with Suffering

[READ John 21]

With the time that we have remaining, I would like us to look at the text and to consider

3 Truths to remember when persecution because of Jesus comes

And the first is this…

I. Suffering and Persecution is promised to all Christians

Before we get too deep into the weeds on this passage, it might be helpful for us to remember the larger context of what is going on here.

As Christ was explaining and predicting to his disciples that he would die Peter jumped in

“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…he denied, and rather vehemently that he did not know Christ...and he was undone by a little slave girl.

“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 say any of that to poke fun at Peter and be like….oh man…had I been there, surely I would have done soooooo much better.

In fact, I would say this, apart from possessing the Holy Spirit and the grace of God…each and every one of us would have folded our cards just as fast, if not faster than Peter.

Just think about that for a moment. If you and I heard that story of Peter and we boast…we are missing the point of the passage…we are not seeing that we are just like Peter apart from the grace of God.

Well, we find ourselves now in the story where Jesus and Peter are talking about the future…and it’s helpful to remind ourselves that while Peter was a zealous man…I believe that he earnestly wanted to follow Christ…he probably did not understand what was fully instore.

““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)

And what we end up seeing then is….

Peter’s Life was full of suffering

At Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit came and indwelled Peter and others…something changed in them.

They went from cowering men who were ashamed to even be associated with Jesus and now giving a full-throated defense of the Gospel…even at the risk of their own life.

If time allowed, we could consider when….

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

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

1. Ultimately, he was executed

But time does not, and I’m sure that these stories will ultimately come up in our year of looking at the life of Peter more closely.

Peter was promised persecution and it was ultimately given to him…he was told that he would suffer for Christ, and that did happen.

We should look at the life that Peter lived, seeing his mistakes and seeing his suffering and seeing not only the transformed man from who he was…to who he became…but on many levels we should see a man who was willing to suffer great things for the cause of Christ.

In fact…in the Acts 5 reference above the text records that Peter was flogged…and as he left…he went away….just wait for it…just consider it…he went away rejoicing…can we just all agree that most of us….if we were in that position would not be acting that way…

I think we would all be beaten…and then say…You know what Guys…I’m going to take a season off to pray about does God really want me involved in ministry still.

We would say thing like, “I know that God wants me to share about him…but I just got whipped for teaching about Jesus…I’m going to take some time to consider my options…”

Again, we don’t have time to consider these passages and all that is in them...but praise God that this is not what happened….

For us then….we must see that…

Christians are told many things about persecution

When we think about suffering here in the US…we are generally are not talking about what the Apostles went through…and praise God for that.

We have our forebearers to thank for that. We should be so grateful that we do not live in a nation where we could just be killed for being a Christian.

Lest we forget, however, there are folks around the world…even today…who will risk their lives, and perhaps even die because the trusted in Christ.

In places like African and the Middle East…and of all places, Iran has one of the fastest growing Churches in the world…you can be murdered for following Christ…

And especially for our international students who have to go back to China…we need to consider them…pray for them…we need to see how we can serve them while they are here and when they go back home…

We can and should rejoice that we, here in the US do not face such persecution…but we should remember that there are brothers and sisters all over the world who do not enjoy such a privilege…

There are 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 that morning.

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

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 persecution barely holds a candle to what the early church went through…that we are often miffed by the entire experience.

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

When we think back to where our church family was 1 year from today with the 31-21 we were, I think I can speak for us…all a bit surprised that the WL City Council was considering reigning in our liberty of speech.

But more than just being surprised…let’s remember

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

Again, we don’t have time to explore each of these things…but I would put forward to each person here, that if you have not suffered for your faith in some way…if there has never been a price for you 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 gin up suffering to prove ourselves to God and the world and each other…but what I am saying is, that as you age, if you reflect on your life and there has not been some sort of suffering that has taken place…then you might consider what that means.

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….over and over the Scripture picture a person having joy who suffered for their walk with Christ.

You might be thinking, why in the world would this be the case? Why would a person consider it a privilege to suffer for Christ?

I think the clearest reason that I can see that is given in scripture is not the rewards…although that will be there….but it the assurance that comes when you suffer.

If you are a Christian suffering for Christ…it is a privilege because it will assure 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 you joy will be.

Let me repeat that one more time….the greater your assurance is….the greater your joy will be and one of the ways that you will have assurance is by experiencing suffering in your life for Christ….

So, dear brothers and sisters….rather than view it is a negative and bad thing…when you suffer for Christ….you should consider it a privilege.

Building on that we see that….

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

Far from it being some strange thing…or something that we should try to get out from under…we should embrace and trust that often when persecution comes…it’s part of what God is using in our life to make us more like Christ.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 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…and one of the lies that he wants you to believe is that when you are experiencing this sort of persecution….you are forsaken.

The great lie that is being spoken by Satan is that you are suffering because you are unloved…you are forsaken…and this path you are on is only because you are abandoned.

Dear brothers and sisters, that is so far form the actual truth of God’s word. There is no suffering and persecution that can keep you from God.

But this is a good point for me to ask…if you even know Christ as your Lord and Savior. It does not do any good to be assured that no amount of suffering can keep you from Christ when he is already far from you…

There are two types of persons in this room today…there are persons…and I hope and pray, and even believe that the majority of the persons here know Christ as there Savior…however, there are persons in this very room who do not know Christ.

There are men and women in this room who do not know Christ…and who are separated from him.

If you are not sure that Christ died for you….that your sin was paid on the Cross because…by faith you have trusted in him…he saved you….you did not do a thing…if you do not have that assurance, then I would encourage you…that even today…that you would draw near to the Lord.

If you want…I can tell you that any of our pastors on staff would be delighted to meet with you…pick the day and time…and we would love to walk you through the gospel…but if you are one of those persons…do not keep thinking that you can go on the way you are.

Let me also say to the Christian who feel far off right now from Christ…they might say that it is not suffering that has moved them away from Christ…but something else…sin…laziness…apathy…that they do not feal near to him…that today you would commit to changing that.

Today you would commit to change….We have mentioned that there is a lot of benefits and rewards that come with persecution because of your relationship with Christ….but let’s be honest.

Satan isn’t really interested in persecuting a lukewarm Christian. He isn’t going to bring about these sort of trials in your life if you are not really taking a stand for Christ in your home, your family, your work…

To those here who would say that they feel far off from God…make this year the year to drawn near to him…

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….it was promised to him 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 sanctification…and no amount of suffering will ever separate us from the love of God.

And as we are going through life…. let us also learn here from Peter that we should not….

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 agree that if were there….if we were Peter….we would probably said the same things, or at the very least thought the same thing?

I think we would want to know…OK…so I’m going to die the way you did…I’m going to suffer….so, what about the rest of the team.

Built into our thinking is “fair.” Can we just agree to that for a moment.

In fact, I find as one of the hardest concept to be at peace with in my mind how the Kingdom of God works as it centers around the notion of “fairness.”

Yet, God’s kingdom does not revolve around our small vision of fairness…but around his perfect justice and providence that is working toward his glory.

The danger of course of comparing yourself to others is that….

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…but each of the receiving a full day’s wage.

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….

This of course leads to grumbling…and how the master responds…how Jesus wants us to think about this topic of fairness should put all 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 then I feel that I am not being treated “fairly” that my eye is envious because of God’s generosity.

I confess that is so hard…to not look around…to compare that way that Peter does…and to in my own view and in my own interpretation….to not start questioning God….to not start grumbling…

But dear brothers…when persecution comes and hard times are here…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.

One of the most serious consequences that will come when you are looking around and comparing is that…

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 your space…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.

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

So, in the midst of suffering and the temptation to look around…I would encourage you to remember that….

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 that point there….that God’s plan for your life is perfect?

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

Do you think that the suffering you have gone through, will go through is not the perfect path?

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

When you are tempted to look around….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 for the glorification of his name…that there is no more perfect plan that his plan for your life.

I would confess that even in my own life that is a hard pill to swallow at times…that is why we need one another.

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…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 will know what to do to help you.

If you are a college student, I would encourage you to join a Bible Study

If you are not a college student, we have Faith Groups here….and I would encourage to join one of them if you are not in one already…

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.

You are going to face persecution if you are a follower of Christ. You will need to run to truths that we just talked about…so now is the time to get ready…now is the time to be spending deep time in God’s word.

And let me just challenge you to do something that perhaps many of you have never done before…read the Bible in 1 year.

I have found it a great joy in my life to read through the entire Bible in a year each year…there are so many differ plans that exist…but to read through the entire counsel of God each year…and it only takes most folks like 20 minutes a day…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….

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 in 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 think that we should not…thinking about things and people that should not occupy our minds?

How much energy do we waist focused on how God is blessing others?

How much sin do we need to repent of because we are not focused on following him?

How much time do we devote to judging the Judge of the world and what he is doing?

How many words have we said to others and to God in comparison, in complaint that 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 though when we follow Jesus is no a thing….

Rather…we should cure and calm our souls by remind ourselves that God will reward your faithfulness…

There is pain that is real in this moment but the hope that we have in the midst of our suffering for Christ that one day…he will reward that.

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 word…knowing that looking around will not help us…our job is to faithfully follow him.