WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.896 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.896 --> 00:06.396 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.396 --> 00:08.356 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.356 --> 00:09.476 builds your faith, 00:09.476 --> 00:12.536 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.536 --> 00:15.616 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.616 --> 00:18.276 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.276 --> 00:20.696 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.428 --> 00:26.788 If you have your Bibles, open to 1 Peter chapter 4. 00:27.248 --> 00:30.068 We'll begin reading there in just a moment. 00:30.188 --> 00:34.768 I want to welcome our friends at the Olive Drive campus. 00:35.748 --> 00:40.108 I am one of the associate pastors at Valley Baptist Church. 00:40.228 --> 00:42.788 I've been at Valley 13 years. 00:43.349 --> 00:46.809 As a pastor, this Christmas season has been really a blessing. 00:46.809 --> 00:48.109 Amen. A valley. 00:48.109 --> 00:49.849 This is kind of a different Sunday. 00:49.849 --> 00:53.589 I like to think of this Sunday between Christmas Day 00:53.589 --> 00:57.849 and New Year's Day as being kind of like intermission Sunday. 00:57.849 --> 01:01.509 So let's see what God has for us. 01:01.509 --> 01:06.009 First Peter Chapter four, beginning in verse 12. 01:06.009 --> 01:11.009 Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, 01:11.009 --> 01:13.089 which is to try you. 01:13.420 --> 01:16.500 as though some strange thing happened to you, 01:16.500 --> 01:22.420 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, 01:22.460 --> 01:28.100 that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 01:28.360 --> 01:29.119 Let's pray. 01:29.120 --> 01:36.500 Father, we thank You that we can have joy in Christ that supersedes circumstances. 01:37.340 --> 01:42.260 Father, we pray that we get just a refreshing, in the very least, and a taste. 01:43.306 --> 01:49.926 of some of what that means through some of today's text by the inspiration of Your Spirit. 01:49.926 --> 01:55.306 We pray You fill us and challenge us, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 01:55.306 --> 01:57.506 Thank you, and you may be seated. 01:58.342 --> 02:05.622 I am calling this message today a biblical response to bad things. 02:05.622 --> 02:15.402 And I don't know if it's just because there is a lot of gospel or you could say prosperity 02:15.402 --> 02:19.682 gospel type preaching in our culture these days. 02:19.682 --> 02:26.862 But it seems like there are a lot of Christians that struggle with really responding biblically 02:26.860 --> 02:35.760 and even have different kinds of unbiblical expectations about Christians and bad circumstances. 02:35.760 --> 02:43.720 It's almost as if Christians sometimes think that because we know Jesus, we get a hall pass from trials. 02:45.389 --> 02:48.329 I want to put it in a little bit of a lighter way. 02:48.349 --> 02:54.929 We sometimes during this season raise expectations during the holidays that are 02:54.949 --> 02:59.329 very unrealistic to Matt as if everything is just going to be perfect. 02:59.349 --> 03:01.769 There's going to be sugar plums not only 03:01.789 --> 03:05.729 dancing in our head, but dancing around the living room. 03:05.749 --> 03:07.949 I don't know about some of you ladies. 03:07.989 --> 03:11.029 I got permission to talk about this by my wife. 03:11.069 --> 03:14.029 My wife watches these holiday movies 03:15.022 --> 03:19.322 And if you know what I mean, holiday romance movies. 03:19.362 --> 03:21.822 And I have noticed that over the years, 03:21.862 --> 03:25.162 there is an increasing bar of expectation, 03:25.202 --> 03:29.042 even just for the guys in these films. 03:29.062 --> 03:31.802 I was noticing watching with my wife recently 03:31.842 --> 03:35.082 that it's not really just good enough as a guy 03:35.102 --> 03:39.482 that I own a bakery, 03:39.522 --> 03:41.882 but at the same time, it would really be good 03:41.922 --> 03:44.542 if I would also be a lumberjack. 03:46.308 --> 03:49.288 I mean, I said to my wife, I mean, is this really what you expect? 03:49.388 --> 03:50.347 I bake cookies. 03:50.348 --> 03:50.947 I go out. 03:50.948 --> 03:52.027 I cut some wood. 03:52.028 --> 03:53.007 I come back in. 03:53.008 --> 03:53.987 I bake brownies. 03:53.988 --> 03:57.048 I go out and I build a Christmas log cabin. 03:57.528 --> 04:00.008 Is that your ideal guy for the holidays? 04:01.008 --> 04:04.448 And she looked at me and she goes, yeah, pretty much. 04:05.808 --> 04:06.928 Yeah. 04:06.929 --> 04:10.669 Now, ladies, if that's your expectation for your holiday guy, 04:10.689 --> 04:15.669 you might want to bring it down to a place of more realism. 04:15.689 --> 04:21.549 The Apostle Peter writes this epistle in a realistic way, which is so great. 04:21.569 --> 04:25.909 One of the things I love about Scripture is the realism of trials. 04:25.929 --> 04:29.949 And as you go back to first Peter chapter one, beginning in verse one, 04:29.969 --> 04:35.589 it says that this letter was written to the Jews of the dispersion. 04:35.583 --> 04:40.123 Now, if you know your Old Testament history, the Jews of the dispersion were 04:40.463 --> 04:43.383 those who were outside of Israel 04:43.383 --> 04:47.503 because they had been dispersed because of persecution. 04:47.503 --> 04:50.383 In fact, the northern kingdom of Israel, 04:50.383 --> 04:54.523 the ten tribes were conquered by Assyria in 722. 04:54.763 --> 04:58.323 And then the world was under Babylonian rule and then Persian rule. 04:58.523 --> 05:02.103 And in the midst of that, they dispersed outside of Israel. 05:02.103 --> 05:04.123 They never came back to that region. 05:04.118 --> 05:08.998 And so as part of their culture, they set up things, specifically synagogues. 05:09.198 --> 05:12.298 And then in the first century, when the gospel was spread, 05:12.298 --> 05:15.998 they went out first to those synagogues and they witnessed the gospel 05:15.998 --> 05:19.818 to those Jews, and many of them became Christians. 05:19.812 --> 05:24.232 But it came to a point where they had sort of some competing tribes. 05:24.232 --> 05:28.112 There were the Gentile Romans, and then there were also the Jews. 05:28.412 --> 05:31.492 And then there were the Christian Jews. 05:31.992 --> 05:35.212 If you know your Bible well, you'll know that very often 05:35.212 --> 05:38.452 the Jews didn't think very much of the Gentiles. 05:38.452 --> 05:41.172 The Gentiles didn't think very well of the Jews. 05:41.372 --> 05:44.712 But one thing they had in common at this point is that neither of them 05:44.712 --> 05:47.192 like the Christians very much. 05:47.183 --> 05:49.343 And these are the group that Peter's writing to. 05:50.003 --> 05:54.203 It sort of reminds me when my wife and I went to seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. 05:54.203 --> 06:00.803 If you know New Orleans culture, you know that there's a lot there that's not very friendly to Bible-believing Christians. 06:02.067 --> 06:04.767 But not only did we move as Christians to New Orleans, 06:04.767 --> 06:06.827 but in the seminary, there were a bunch of people 06:06.827 --> 06:09.167 from a lot of the rural South, 06:09.167 --> 06:12.647 and they didn't think too highly of Californians. 06:12.647 --> 06:17.127 So here we are, Californian Christians in New Orleans. 06:17.127 --> 06:20.767 If there's such a thing, it was like a three-edged sword. 06:20.767 --> 06:23.067 It reminds me a little bit of Bakersfield. 06:23.067 --> 06:24.587 Throughout the rest of the country, 06:24.587 --> 06:27.367 our country doesn't think too highly of California. 06:27.367 --> 06:30.307 California doesn't always think too highly of Bakersfield. 06:31.531 --> 06:34.791 And then being a Christian in Bakersfield, California, 06:35.071 --> 06:37.411 that's almost like a three-edged sword. 06:37.931 --> 06:39.771 But 1 Peter is written to people 06:39.771 --> 06:42.511 that are not just being socially ostracized, 06:42.591 --> 06:44.811 which is much of the way that we experience it, 06:45.051 --> 06:47.591 but they were being full-on persecuted. 06:48.288 --> 06:53.288 Sometimes we overlook the fact that persecution is going on all the time 06:53.328 --> 06:55.428 globally. Even today, 06:55.568 --> 07:00.568 I read a statistic recently that roughly 380 million Christians are at the level 07:03.508 --> 07:08.028 of either high or intense persecution. I mean, 07:08.028 --> 07:10.408 really at the point of threat on their life. 07:10.688 --> 07:15.688 That is one in seven professing Christians globally. 07:15.688 --> 07:17.481 That is one in seven professing Christians globally. 07:17.482 --> 07:19.142 We look at that, though, and we ask, well, 07:19.142 --> 07:21.722 how should we respond to that? 07:21.722 --> 07:23.922 What should we think about that? 07:23.922 --> 07:27.022 I want to start with a framework that I think can help you 07:27.022 --> 07:29.042 to think biblically about this, something 07:29.042 --> 07:31.382 that I read many years ago. 07:31.382 --> 07:34.282 And the first two are some traps that we can get into. 07:34.282 --> 07:35.902 And then the third one represents 07:35.902 --> 07:37.582 a more biblical view. 07:37.582 --> 07:41.542 The first one is this, that pure agnosticism says 07:41.542 --> 07:44.862 that we can't know anything. 07:44.853 --> 07:48.733 And sometimes we just give in to the futility of just throwing in the towel, 07:48.733 --> 07:50.573 case or whatever will be. 07:50.573 --> 07:52.853 Maybe there is no meaning. 07:52.853 --> 07:55.733 Well, no, that's not the biblical view. 07:55.733 --> 07:58.373 But sometimes we can go to another extreme. 07:58.373 --> 08:01.113 The other extreme is pure dogmatism. 08:01.113 --> 08:06.853 Pure dogmatism says that we can know everything. 08:06.858 --> 08:09.618 A lot of Christians get tripped up with this. 08:09.658 --> 08:13.118 Sometimes we think if we don't have every single answer 08:13.158 --> 08:16.278 to every single finer point of trial 08:16.318 --> 08:18.378 of every single individual going on, 08:18.418 --> 08:19.838 then maybe the Bible's not true. 08:19.878 --> 08:21.698 Maybe even there's no God. 08:21.738 --> 08:25.718 And yet the Bible itself assumes this truth. 08:25.758 --> 08:28.378 In fact, in 1 Corinthians 13, it says, 08:28.418 --> 08:33.458 for now, this age, we know in part. 08:33.453 --> 08:35.953 So that leads us to the third part of the framework, 08:36.173 --> 08:41.873 is that realism says we can know some things. 08:42.393 --> 08:45.473 Sometimes Christians don't even seek to apply themselves 08:45.473 --> 08:48.093 to the some things that we can know. 08:48.539 --> 08:53.119 Now, what we're looking here today is not comprehensive about what we can know about trials. 08:53.379 --> 08:57.079 It's just a section of scripture in first Peter four. 08:57.299 --> 09:03.039 And what it's talking about is how to respond to trials in this one section. 09:03.039 --> 09:06.379 So I'm calling this a biblical response to bad things. 09:06.659 --> 09:10.379 And if you'll follow in your outline, some of these have some typos. 09:10.379 --> 09:12.279 They don't even have the number. 09:12.282 --> 09:13.582 One of those is number one. 09:13.722 --> 09:16.402 You get to work hard today, so add your own number. 09:16.822 --> 09:18.041 Number one. 09:18.042 --> 09:23.542 Number one, responding to bad things is don't be so surprised. 09:24.682 --> 09:30.062 In 1 Peter chapter 4, beloved, that's you, Christian, if you know Jesus. 09:30.062 --> 09:32.582 If not, we're going to talk to you about that at the end. 09:33.477 --> 09:40.737 Beloved Christian, someone who knows Jesus, do not think it's strange concerning what these trials. 09:40.877 --> 09:45.517 And then at the end of the verse, as though some strange thing is happening to you. 09:45.517 --> 09:47.877 The word strange from the Greek Zenitzo. 09:48.457 --> 09:52.317 It means to be surprised or to be astonished. 09:53.217 --> 09:56.717 It's very common that somebody will come to Christ. 09:56.917 --> 10:01.717 Somebody will rededicate and really begin pouring in and believing and obeying God. 10:01.837 --> 10:03.517 And then they just hit these trials. 10:04.337 --> 10:06.197 And they just go, what is going on? 10:06.537 --> 10:07.516 How could this happen? 10:07.517 --> 10:08.617 This can't possibly happen. 10:08.977 --> 10:12.077 Pastor, life teacher, friend, tell me what the Bible says about this. 10:12.137 --> 10:15.397 One thing the Bible says is don't be so surprised. 10:16.697 --> 10:19.877 In fact, it says don't be so surprised. 10:20.744 --> 10:22.064 to new Christians. And, 10:22.124 --> 10:26.644 and this is something that is actually permeates the scripture that evil exists. 10:26.644 --> 10:30.284 We live in fallen creation. We live in a sin sick world. 10:30.764 --> 10:35.764 And this is something that we have to continually repeatedly put before our eyes 10:35.984 --> 10:40.864 because we somehow get the impression that becoming a Christian becomes this 10:40.904 --> 10:42.724 perpetual Rose garden. 10:44.875 --> 10:46.435 There's actually an author. 10:46.435 --> 10:48.435 He's a seasoned disciple maker. 10:48.435 --> 10:49.635 His name is Scott Larson. 10:49.635 --> 10:52.135 He wrote a book called Fresh Start. 10:52.135 --> 10:56.435 We're going to have a series of this on Valley Baptist University on our website 10:56.435 --> 11:00.275 with a bunch of different pastors giving their perspective about his simple 11:00.275 --> 11:01.041 chapters. 11:01.042 --> 11:03.202 He has 30 chapters that'll be segments. 11:03.342 --> 11:05.882 I notice that about every five or six, 11:06.042 --> 11:09.322 he comes back to the subject of trying to teach 11:09.322 --> 11:11.102 and encourage new believers 11:11.102 --> 11:13.482 and recently rededicated believers 11:13.482 --> 11:17.142 away from this surprise idea. 11:19.030 --> 11:21.910 In 2 Timothy 3.12, there's a verse, 11:22.530 --> 11:25.530 and it's a verse that's maybe not the most popular verse. 11:25.930 --> 11:29.770 I want to challenge you that every time you go to a verse in the Bible 11:29.770 --> 11:34.170 that we might take out of context that seems to say 11:34.927 --> 11:40.887 that if we're faithful to Jesus, that we're going to live a life of ongoing, perpetual, 11:40.887 --> 11:43.567 upward mobility, prosperity, and health. 11:43.567 --> 11:49.067 There's another verse, another verse like 2 Timothy 3.12 that says, all who desire to 11:49.067 --> 11:55.547 live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 11:55.547 --> 12:02.607 Now that verse is a verse that we don't often find on coffee cups and pillows. 12:02.607 --> 12:04.487 And yet it's there in Scripture. 12:04.913 --> 12:11.113 And Peter is teaching people away from the coffee cup and pillow attitude that we can have. 12:11.213 --> 12:13.193 So number one, don't be so surprised. 12:13.373 --> 12:17.333 Number two, know that it serves a purpose. 12:18.593 --> 12:31.653 1 Peter 4.12, it says, don't be so surprised concerning, notice carefully, concerning this fiery trial, which is to try you. 12:32.723 --> 12:34.843 Fiery comes from the word porosis. 12:35.803 --> 12:38.523 It's where we get the word pure or purify. 12:39.263 --> 12:45.703 It's basic physics and chemistry that fire purifies, and that's the analogy. 12:47.263 --> 12:52.903 In fact, not only does fire purify precious metals, but that's one of the reasons why we cook food. 12:54.340 --> 12:58.660 Now my wife not only watches holiday romance during the holidays, 12:58.660 --> 13:01.480 my wife often watches these cooking shows. 13:01.480 --> 13:03.700 I don't know how many of you ladies watch cooking shows. 13:04.300 --> 13:07.220 There's this one on that I watch sometimes with my wife. 13:07.220 --> 13:12.160 It's called master chef and this master chef guy, 13:12.160 --> 13:15.040 he can be tough on those cooks. 13:15.738 --> 13:22.278 And one of the things I've noticed is if you really want to get in bad graces or displeased, 13:22.278 --> 13:29.738 the Master Chef is present an entree that's undercooked. 13:29.738 --> 13:34.418 I was thinking about that comparison to this. 13:34.418 --> 13:43.158 Our eternal Master Chef wants us as Christians, His followers, to not be undercooked Christians. 13:44.037 --> 13:49.457 So he allows the purifying fire so that we can grow in character. 13:49.897 --> 13:52.257 He allows us to be cooked. 13:53.453 --> 13:56.693 Several weeks ago on a Sunday night, we had an ordination service, 13:56.813 --> 14:00.953 and Pastor Brian presented a really great charge of ordaining all these young men. 14:01.333 --> 14:02.873 And he was very positive. 14:03.053 --> 14:06.813 It was very balanced, but at least a segment of what he was saying is, 14:06.993 --> 14:09.153 not only is God going to use you and you're going to be blessed, 14:09.433 --> 14:13.793 but it's almost as if Pastor Brian said, rest assured, guys, you're going to get cooked. 14:16.505 --> 14:21.665 When I was a pastor, I started serving as a senior pastor at the age of 25. 14:22.205 --> 14:24.705 I was in L.A. County at the time. 14:25.465 --> 14:30.365 And God used it, and God blessed, but I want you to know, I got cooked. 14:31.625 --> 14:37.505 It was like Pastor Eric cooked to a fine crisp with a side of Cindy. 14:38.898 --> 14:40.778 Those are some tough days. 14:41.478 --> 14:44.958 But God used it to refine me, to refine us. 14:45.238 --> 14:47.418 And that's what the Lord wants us to know. 14:47.638 --> 14:50.198 In James chapter 1 and verse 4, it says, 14:50.198 --> 14:52.778 we are to be knowing that the testing, 14:53.178 --> 14:56.958 or you could say the cooking of your faith, produces. 14:57.730 --> 15:01.690 It produces and refines and makes us into mature believers 15:01.690 --> 15:03.630 that God wants us to be. 15:03.630 --> 15:06.190 So number one, don't be so surprised. 15:06.190 --> 15:08.870 Number two, know that it serves a purpose. 15:09.170 --> 15:11.730 Now, number three, this is a challenging one. 15:11.730 --> 15:14.730 Number three, rejoice. 15:16.530 --> 15:19.770 Peter says, but 15:19.770 --> 15:23.030 rejoice, don't be so surprised, but 15:23.990 --> 15:24.729 rejoice. 15:24.730 --> 15:27.290 Turn to the person next to you and say, Rejoice. 15:29.152 --> 15:30.692 Now, that is a tough one. 15:30.752 --> 15:32.532 You don't know what that person's been through. 15:33.592 --> 15:36.492 The Bible does say weep with those who weep 15:36.492 --> 15:38.172 and rejoice with those who rejoice. 15:38.412 --> 15:41.132 But there is a place in the Bible for rejoicing 15:41.132 --> 15:44.152 that's not really about rejoicing in circumstances. 15:44.312 --> 15:48.932 In fact, the quintessential book on joy in the Bible is Philippians. 15:48.932 --> 15:53.032 Even Philippians doesn't just say rejoice in a naked way. 15:53.152 --> 15:55.872 It says rejoice in the Lord. 15:56.658 --> 16:05.858 And what we have here in 1 Peter, Peter now elaborates or unpacks on what rejoicing in the Lord can mean in our life. 16:05.858 --> 16:10.058 So if you'll follow, I'm going to do A, B, C, and D on this. 16:10.618 --> 16:16.478 Letter A, rejoice in the Lord because you relate more deeply to Christ. 16:17.617 --> 16:26.977 1 Peter 4.13, rejoice to the extent that you partake from the Greek koinonia, you fellowship in Christ's sufferings. 16:27.417 --> 16:28.797 That was an old praise song. 16:28.877 --> 16:29.916 I want to know you. 16:29.917 --> 16:31.497 I want to know you more. 16:31.817 --> 16:35.457 I imagine someone leaving worship and then going, how come I'm having all these trials? 16:35.597 --> 16:38.057 God says, because you said you wanted to know me more. 16:38.057 --> 16:40.097 Right? 16:40.094 --> 16:42.694 And that's why we rejoice. 16:43.174 --> 16:44.574 2 Corinthians 1.5, 16:44.694 --> 16:46.634 As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, 16:46.654 --> 16:49.654 so our consolation abounds through Christ. 16:49.734 --> 16:53.514 The more pain and trial, the more consolation in Christ. 16:53.514 --> 16:55.654 Also, letter B, we rejoice 16:55.654 --> 17:00.454 because there will be a final glory and joy. 17:01.254 --> 17:04.194 It says that when His glory is revealed, 17:04.654 --> 17:09.274 you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 17:10.368 --> 17:16.608 Sometimes we miss the implicit truth in Scripture that the experience of heaven is not the exact 17:16.608 --> 17:19.208 experience for every Christian. 17:19.208 --> 17:23.488 We're only saved by grace through faith in Jesus, but there's a difference of greater 17:23.488 --> 17:25.608 and lesser rewards. 17:25.608 --> 17:31.008 There's passages like this that seem to suggest that the more trial and suffering in Jesus' 17:31.008 --> 17:35.748 name, the more exceeding and great joy we have in the eternal kingdom. 17:36.541 --> 17:39.201 I love it when we read through the Bible as a church. 17:39.201 --> 17:43.361 We did that last year, and this year when I was reading through that, going all the 17:43.361 --> 17:47.901 way from the major prophets, all the way to the end of the minor prophets, going all the 17:47.901 --> 17:52.741 way from Isaiah, all the way to Malachi, there are two things that just kept jumping out 17:52.741 --> 17:53.741 at me. 17:53.741 --> 17:56.921 One of the things was there will be final justice. 17:56.921 --> 17:59.721 The other one is there will be final comfort. 17:59.710 --> 18:06.570 I mean, it's almost every book except for maybe Jonah from the major prophets to the minor prophets. 18:06.690 --> 18:08.150 In fact, it almost got redundant. 18:08.310 --> 18:12.890 I'm going to confess that I was reading that going, okay, there will be final justice. 18:13.050 --> 18:14.470 There will be final comfort. 18:14.570 --> 18:16.750 I'm kind of going, Lord, this is redundant. 18:16.890 --> 18:18.089 I get it. 18:18.090 --> 18:20.190 And it's as if God said back, do you? 18:22.272 --> 18:30.972 I wonder how many times as Christians we have forgotten what God has finally promised for us in the glory and joy when we see him face to face. 18:32.112 --> 18:33.212 All right, letter C. 18:33.412 --> 18:37.532 One of the reasons we rejoice in the Lord is that we are blessed. 18:37.532 --> 18:47.452 1 Peter 4, 14a, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you. 18:48.800 --> 18:54.560 I love that word blessed, and that word reproach means, that means to be insulted or to be 18:54.560 --> 18:56.340 belittled. 18:56.340 --> 19:01.500 It might be because of social media, but it seems like more and more Christians are being 19:01.500 --> 19:06.980 insulted and belittled and done so publicly. 19:06.980 --> 19:09.700 And we sit and pray and we think, how should I think about this? 19:09.700 --> 19:13.920 One of the things Peter says in the Spirit, think about how blessed you are. 19:15.682 --> 19:22.282 Because you are blessed, it says that you have Christ's Spirit resting on you. 19:22.462 --> 19:27.542 That word blessed, we sometimes use it in the Sermon on the Mount in the Beatitudes as happy. 19:27.542 --> 19:34.782 But it really doesn't make sense in our cultural understanding of happiness because happy are those who mourn is like a contradiction. 19:35.932 --> 19:39.472 But blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 19:39.472 --> 19:43.692 That makes sense, and it sits nicely over what Peter says here in 1 Peter, 19:43.892 --> 19:46.492 because the Spirit of Christ rests on you. 19:46.492 --> 19:51.212 The comforter is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. 19:51.872 --> 19:55.712 And the more insult you take in Christ, the more blessed you are. 19:55.812 --> 19:58.307 So rejoice. 19:58.308 --> 20:03.288 The other reason to rejoice, letter D, is that we glorify God. 20:03.468 --> 20:08.228 It says on their part, he's blaspheming, but on your part, he is glorified. 20:09.388 --> 20:16.008 One of the ways we can describe glorifying God is sort of just like the life purpose of every human being. 20:16.008 --> 20:21.368 We are to know Jesus, and we are to glorify God in everything that we do. 20:22.658 --> 20:25.378 There have been some famous and very astute thinkers. 20:25.518 --> 20:27.038 Not all of them are even Christians. 20:27.298 --> 20:30.018 Even people like Viktor Frankl and Albert Camus, 20:30.018 --> 20:35.038 who have understood that one of the greatest obstacles of life in the human condition 20:35.038 --> 20:39.218 is not so much difficulty but futility. 20:40.058 --> 20:42.478 Futility meaning meaninglessness. 20:44.663 --> 20:49.763 There are many people I think you'd probably figure out that have not understood the meaning of their life. 20:49.763 --> 20:53.363 The Apostle Paul is one who did in Philippians 120. 20:53.363 --> 21:03.543 He says this, that Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death, my whole life, whether life or death, is to glorify Jesus. 21:03.543 --> 21:09.783 There are many throughout history that have discovered that even though they can live worldly successful lives, 21:10.297 --> 21:11.757 It seems like they're making money. 21:11.757 --> 21:13.257 It seems like they're prospering. 21:13.257 --> 21:17.837 It seems like they're on a perpetual path of health and upward mobility. 21:18.057 --> 21:22.677 They get to a point where they realize that their lives are empty, 21:23.497 --> 21:27.457 full of the world, but they have empty souls. 21:28.257 --> 21:31.557 We have an entire book of the Bible that is dedicated to this. 21:31.557 --> 21:34.517 It's called the Book of Ecclesiastes. 21:34.698 --> 21:38.698 It's about life under the sun being meaningless. 21:38.738 --> 21:45.498 I thank God today that in Christ, as Christ followers, we can have meaningful 21:45.538 --> 21:49.118 lives and having meaningful lives. 21:49.158 --> 21:54.158 I like to contrast the empty life with the full life of William Carey. 21:54.198 --> 21:56.778 He's known as the father of modern missions. 21:56.818 --> 22:00.378 William Carey was successful for the gospel, but he had 22:00.382 --> 22:03.582 all of these crazy financial and health trials. 22:03.802 --> 22:06.462 He lost numerous members of his family. 22:06.742 --> 22:08.802 Even with work, he got to the point 22:08.802 --> 22:10.502 where he was translating the Bible 22:10.502 --> 22:12.002 into the languages of India, 22:12.162 --> 22:14.262 and he poured his heart and sweat into it. 22:14.262 --> 22:17.002 And at one point, his entire library 22:17.002 --> 22:19.182 just burned to the ground. 22:20.142 --> 22:22.962 But Carey kept prodding forward in the joy of the Lord. 22:23.082 --> 22:25.542 He had a motto and attitude of this. 22:25.622 --> 22:27.702 He said, I am not afraid of failure. 22:27.702 --> 22:32.902 I am afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. 22:33.662 --> 22:38.042 People living for Christ always matters. 22:39.430 --> 22:40.590 And so we can rejoice. 22:41.490 --> 22:44.630 Now let's do a little bit of a recap going back. 22:45.170 --> 22:48.070 A biblical response to bad things. 22:48.190 --> 22:49.930 Number one is don't be so surprised. 22:50.810 --> 22:51.870 You're not going to remember that. 22:51.950 --> 22:52.649 You're going to leave here. 22:52.650 --> 22:53.589 Something bad is going to happen. 22:53.590 --> 22:54.829 You're going to be super surprised. 22:54.830 --> 22:55.970 Don't be so surprised. 22:56.830 --> 22:59.410 Turn to the person next to you and say, don't be so surprised. 23:02.212 --> 23:05.112 Number two, know it serves a purpose. 23:05.112 --> 23:06.852 Number three, rejoice. 23:06.852 --> 23:08.672 No matter what the circumstance, 23:08.672 --> 23:11.792 we can live a blessed life to the glory of God. 23:11.792 --> 23:13.852 Now, number four, this is a challenging one. 23:13.852 --> 23:17.812 Number four, examine yourself. 23:18.832 --> 23:22.392 Peter now goes on in 1 Peter 4, 23:22.392 --> 23:26.592 and beginning in verse 15, he says, but. 23:26.592 --> 23:29.072 We'll stop there, here's the transition. 23:29.072 --> 23:31.432 Turn the person next to you and say, but. 23:33.768 --> 23:39.168 Up until this point, it'd be easy to read ourselves into this 23:39.208 --> 23:43.568 as like a narrative of saying, Yeah, I'm going to live for Jesus 23:43.608 --> 23:44.748 and I'm going to be blessed. 23:44.748 --> 23:46.948 And even though it's hard, I'm going to rejoice. 23:46.988 --> 23:51.828 And Peter says, it's almost like he says, Wait a minute, that's not all. 23:51.848 --> 23:59.088 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief or an evildoer. 24:00.650 --> 24:03.890 It's very easy to just slip into a mindset. 24:03.890 --> 24:07.830 I'm under spiritual attack. Pray for me. I've got spiritual attack. 24:08.750 --> 24:11.510 Spiritual attack. Yeah. Spiritual attack. What's going on? Well, 24:11.510 --> 24:13.670 the police keep showing up to my house. Yeah. 24:14.990 --> 24:16.490 Why are the police at your house? Well, 24:16.490 --> 24:18.870 I beat up a guy left him for dead and stole his car. 24:21.410 --> 24:22.810 Yeah, that'll do it. 24:24.038 --> 24:26.158 Not really spiritual attack. 24:26.298 --> 24:30.658 That would affirm other aspects of the Bible, like you reap what you sow. 24:31.518 --> 24:33.638 That's like a self-induced harvest. 24:35.338 --> 24:41.118 Reminds me, you might know the story, an old story of a guy who was complaining about his lunch at work. 24:41.298 --> 24:47.898 And every day he'd bring a paper bag lunch to work, and he'd look inside there, and he'd go, oh, oh, no, not bologna. 24:49.435 --> 24:54.595 hate baloney. And then, so the next day he'd open it up again and baloney again, 24:55.495 --> 24:58.855 can't stand baloney. I guess I'll eat it. And then the third day, 24:59.095 --> 25:01.375 not baloney again, 25:02.195 --> 25:05.275 if I could just not have anything else but baloney. 25:05.455 --> 25:08.715 And finally his coworker got tired and said, man, we're sick of hearing this. 25:08.715 --> 25:12.355 He said, why don't you get your wife to pack you something different for lunch? 25:12.655 --> 25:15.635 And he goes, Oh, well I packed my own lunch. 25:20.536 --> 25:24.236 Peter wants the first century Christians to not be thinking 25:24.236 --> 25:28.276 they're suffering for Jesus if they're just packing their own lunch. 25:29.536 --> 25:31.636 Pray for me. I lost my job. 25:31.636 --> 25:35.176 Well, what happened? Well, I embezzled money. 25:35.176 --> 25:37.996 That's the kind of thing that that happens 25:38.474 --> 25:42.194 In fact, now this can apply. I want to pick on my own tribe a little bit. 25:42.194 --> 25:42.873 I've noticed, 25:42.874 --> 25:46.934 and I don't know if it's just because media promotes it more with internet and 25:46.934 --> 25:47.413 other things. 25:47.414 --> 25:51.854 I've noticed there's a lot of scandals in the lives of pastors these days. 25:52.334 --> 25:55.814 In fact, I've noticed I can sort of categorize it on two subjects. 25:55.814 --> 25:57.974 The subjects are money and sex. 25:58.673 --> 26:01.973 Every time I see pastor losses, church pastor got fired. 26:02.233 --> 26:07.073 You have a pastor who embezzled money. You have a pastor who had an affair. 26:07.073 --> 26:10.973 He had a pastor who mismanaged. You had a pastor committing adultery. 26:11.173 --> 26:13.913 It takes me back to when my main pastoral mentor, 26:13.913 --> 26:18.413 who is my father gave me a little bit of a tutorial. Now, 26:18.833 --> 26:23.993 if you know my father, my father is genealogically a German, 26:24.053 --> 26:27.773 but he was also geographically an Oki. 26:29.842 --> 26:33.802 And Okie Germans can tend to say less, but mean more. 26:35.342 --> 26:38.662 And so he gave me simple words. He said, Eric, I was about 21. 26:38.662 --> 26:41.902 He said, you're going into full-time pastoral ministry. Yes. 26:42.562 --> 26:46.162 Then I got a couple of things to say, said, okay. He said, 26:46.162 --> 26:49.042 there's guys that struggle in ministry. Yeah. 26:49.102 --> 26:52.342 Let me give you two things to help you not struggle. I said, okay. He said, 26:52.342 --> 26:55.902 number one, keep your hand out of the offering plate. 26:57.196 --> 27:01.336 I said, okay. He said, number two, keep your pants zipped. 27:03.256 --> 27:06.616 Yeah. Okay. You know, it was simple. 27:06.616 --> 27:10.756 Now that's German Oakey pastoral mentoring right there is what that is. 27:12.080 --> 27:15.120 But I come back years later and I look at this and what do we see? 27:15.200 --> 27:17.640 We see money, sex, money, sex. 27:17.740 --> 27:21.740 In fact, I was reading about this guy that was in one of these scandals. 27:21.740 --> 27:29.020 He actually had an essay, his essay that he wrote for prestigious blogs and for ETS Society. 27:29.620 --> 27:38.060 His essay was entitled, Form and Matter Plus Promise and Promulgation Equals Particular Baptist Federal Theology. 27:38.200 --> 27:39.740 Now, that's a mouthful. 27:39.738 --> 27:42.418 This is what his essay was about, published. 27:42.938 --> 27:48.498 Form and matter plus promise and promulgation equals particular Baptist federal theology. 27:49.698 --> 27:52.578 The kicker is the guy was having an adulterous affair. 27:54.655 --> 27:57.815 If you're not just a pastor, but you're a life group leader, 27:58.075 --> 28:02.415 you're just a church member, disciple, follower of Jesus, 28:02.575 --> 28:06.875 growing in the Lord, you can grow to the pinnacle of your reputation 28:06.875 --> 28:13.815 and acumen as a theologian, as in apologetics, homiletics, 28:14.115 --> 28:19.735 hermeneutics, hydromagnetics, prosthetics, 28:21.402 --> 28:24.242 If your pants are down and your hands in the offering plate, 28:24.462 --> 28:26.642 your witness is going to go wash. 28:29.002 --> 28:35.422 It's amazing how often, though, we sometimes think that it's just the 12-volt sins 28:35.422 --> 28:37.302 that are going to be the challenge and the problem. 28:37.362 --> 28:38.982 I want you to notice very carefully. 28:40.387 --> 28:45.067 that in verse Peter chapter 415, he doesn't just say murderer, thief, 28:45.107 --> 28:53.727 evildoer, he says, or as a busy body in other people's matters. 28:54.487 --> 28:56.907 Now that's just everyday life stuff, isn't it? 28:58.747 --> 29:00.207 You know what being a busy body means? 29:00.207 --> 29:03.627 That means being nosy and rude. 29:04.587 --> 29:07.307 Turn to the person next to you and say, don't be so nosy and rude. 29:11.285 --> 29:15.345 You know, I'm going to date myself a little bit with this, but in pop culture history, 29:15.345 --> 29:21.825 there was an old TV show that had the busybody, the nosy and rude character. 29:21.945 --> 29:24.305 Her name was Gladys Kravitz. 29:26.885 --> 29:30.665 And for Gladys Kravitz, it seems like she meant well. 29:30.805 --> 29:34.625 She would bring a pot roast to her neighbors, Darren and Samantha. 29:35.568 --> 29:37.408 But there was always a little catch. 29:37.908 --> 29:39.308 I brought you a pot roast. 29:39.408 --> 29:40.868 Who's this man living at your house? 29:40.908 --> 29:43.287 Never seen him before. 29:43.288 --> 29:45.008 Well, Gladys, he's a cousin. 29:45.108 --> 29:47.928 He can't be your cousin because three months ago your cousin left. 29:48.088 --> 29:49.848 You told me you only had one cousin. 29:51.028 --> 29:54.728 Well, Gladys, it's one of Darren's cousins. 29:54.868 --> 29:58.168 How come you didn't tell me Darren has a cousin? 29:59.048 --> 30:05.168 Because Gladys or Glenn Kravitz, it's none of your busy body business. 30:06.922 --> 30:09.042 You know, I can go through this passage. 30:09.182 --> 30:10.342 I can go through my life. 30:10.402 --> 30:14.122 I can look at the last three years, and I could say, you know, 30:14.162 --> 30:18.582 in the last three years, suffering for Jesus, people don't like me. 30:19.966 --> 30:20.805 It's crazy. 30:20.806 --> 30:22.786 In three years, I've been in and out of 30:22.786 --> 30:24.986 five significant other relationships. 30:24.986 --> 30:27.306 I've been in and out of six jobs. 30:27.306 --> 30:29.326 I've been in and out of seven churches. 30:29.326 --> 30:32.586 I've been in and out of 18 life groups. 30:32.586 --> 30:34.306 Nobody seems to like me. 30:34.306 --> 30:35.726 Now, if I were to say that, 30:35.726 --> 30:38.386 it may be that I don't need any quip class 30:38.386 --> 30:39.986 on spiritual warfare. 30:39.986 --> 30:42.786 It might be that I need to heed Peter's words. 30:42.786 --> 30:45.326 Don't be so nosy and rude. 30:46.926 --> 30:48.546 So let's do a recap. 30:49.278 --> 30:53.898 We're talking about a biblical perspective on bad things. 30:53.898 --> 30:55.518 One, don't be so surprised. 30:55.518 --> 30:57.858 Two, know that it serves a purpose. 30:57.858 --> 31:00.558 Number three, rejoice in the Lord. 31:00.558 --> 31:02.838 There's reasons that go deeper than circumstances. 31:02.838 --> 31:06.398 Four, definitely examine yourself. 31:06.398 --> 31:08.458 Am I packing my own lunch with this? 31:08.458 --> 31:10.518 Now, lastly, number five, 31:10.518 --> 31:13.038 and you can just write five in on your outline. 31:13.038 --> 31:18.298 Number five, surrender yourself completely to God. 31:19.383 --> 31:30.023 In 1 Peter 4, 19, therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their soul to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. 31:30.023 --> 31:36.983 Commit comes from paratithamine, means literally to place before or to set before. 31:38.553 --> 31:40.273 There's two reasons we can do this. 31:40.393 --> 31:46.673 Letter A in your outline, God is good because God is good and faithful. 31:47.133 --> 31:49.133 This is what Jesus himself practiced. 31:49.293 --> 31:53.293 1 Peter 2.23, even on the subjects of being reviled and insulted, 31:53.293 --> 31:57.993 he said he didn't revile in return, but he committed himself. 31:58.133 --> 31:59.112 He gave himself. 31:59.113 --> 32:02.293 It's like throwing yourself to the mercy of the court. 32:02.493 --> 32:06.513 But this court is the righteous, eternal judge, his heavenly father. 32:07.662 --> 32:09.002 And that's the example for us. 32:09.002 --> 32:13.042 Completely surrender, throw yourself at the mercy of God's court 32:13.162 --> 32:14.342 because God is good. 32:14.342 --> 32:17.242 Let her be. God is also all powerful. 32:18.442 --> 32:21.942 He is not only good and faithful, but he's the good and faithful creator. 32:22.602 --> 32:25.382 Maybe nothing we can say speaks to the power of God 32:25.382 --> 32:29.942 is that he's the creator and sustainer of all things. 32:31.118 --> 32:34.158 There's two errors that we can get into in the doctrine of God. 32:34.178 --> 32:38.158 One error is that God is not good. 32:38.798 --> 32:40.498 That's like a subset of deism. 32:40.498 --> 32:43.598 He just wound up the cosmos and doesn't even care what happens. 32:44.558 --> 32:46.738 Another one is that God is weak. 32:47.058 --> 32:50.738 God really cares, but he just doesn't have the power to do anything about it. 32:50.738 --> 32:52.278 Doesn't really know the future. 32:52.278 --> 32:55.398 That's like a subset of what's called open theism. 32:55.958 --> 33:00.118 The biblical view is that God is creator and sustainer of all things, 33:00.158 --> 33:03.038 and he is the good and righteous judge. 33:03.058 --> 33:04.638 Amen. 33:04.958 --> 33:08.158 Thank God that's the God that we serve. 33:08.198 --> 33:11.718 I remember when I was in seminary, I had a professor that used to walk up 33:11.758 --> 33:16.998 and down the aisles and he'd like get in your face and he had a British accent 33:17.038 --> 33:20.638 and he walked up in the aisle and the aisle and he would just say, who is God? 33:21.136 --> 33:22.476 Young man, who is God? 33:22.576 --> 33:24.176 And I never knew how to answer to that. 33:24.236 --> 33:26.116 I wish I could go back and relive that. 33:26.596 --> 33:28.036 Young lady, who is God? 33:29.216 --> 33:31.236 I think about God being creator. 33:31.416 --> 33:33.816 He is God who creates something from nothing. 33:33.956 --> 33:36.436 One of my favorite questions to ask skeptics is, 33:36.636 --> 33:38.356 why is there something instead of nothing? 33:38.356 --> 33:41.116 Just a basic philosophical question. 33:42.213 --> 33:47.673 Creating something from nothing assumes that there is an eternal cause, a first mover, 33:47.953 --> 33:54.313 and eventually it infers that he is personal, that he is moral, that he is conscious. 33:56.013 --> 33:56.872 Who is God? 33:56.873 --> 34:01.233 God is the one who is the eternal creator who created something from nothing. 34:01.433 --> 34:03.253 I wish I could have said that back to my professor. 34:04.993 --> 34:10.513 Now, some of you today are maybe thinking to yourself, even coming into the building today, 34:10.968 --> 34:13.668 I had expectations for life for this year. 34:13.768 --> 34:17.108 I had expectations for Christmas, maybe a little bit. 34:17.208 --> 34:17.827 And guess what? 34:17.828 --> 34:18.868 It was like nothing. 34:19.628 --> 34:20.648 It turned into nothing. 34:20.708 --> 34:23.488 I looked to the new year and my expectations, nothing. 34:24.148 --> 34:27.328 In fact, I have no prospects, nothing, no support, nothing. 34:27.428 --> 34:28.827 It's just a big nothing. 34:28.828 --> 34:32.888 Now, often we're exaggerating that at least just a little. 34:34.308 --> 34:38.208 But I want you to know that even if that's true, 34:39.588 --> 34:40.828 Friends, hear me out. 34:40.828 --> 34:45.828 We serve a God who can create something from nothing. 34:47.688 --> 34:51.808 He is God, that's what He does. 34:55.128 --> 34:57.808 Now, what we're gonna do in just a moment, 34:57.808 --> 35:00.248 we're gonna have a time of commitment. 35:00.248 --> 35:01.648 And in our time of commitment, 35:01.648 --> 35:04.348 there's a couple of verses that I didn't go through here 35:04.348 --> 35:06.028 in 1 Peter 4. 35:06.352 --> 35:11.272 One talks about those who are inside the house of God, 35:11.272 --> 35:15.252 those who are believers in Jesus and those also who are outside the gospel, 35:15.452 --> 35:19.432 those inside might need to go through some refining fire, 35:20.752 --> 35:25.752 but those who are outside the gospel is simply that Jesus Christ died for our 35:26.392 --> 35:31.032 sin and our place that he rose again and that by repenting and believing we have 35:31.052 --> 35:33.412 eternal life and abundant life in his name. 35:35.073 --> 35:40.573 In a few moments, we're going to have some people that are going to be standing up here at the front and you can come forward and make it known. 35:40.573 --> 35:48.533 They will give you very clear directions on how you can be certain you have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. 35:50.328 --> 35:54.408 But for those on the outside, it might be, or those rather on the inside, 35:54.588 --> 35:59.008 it might be that we need to keep a Christian practice even of confession. 35:59.448 --> 36:04.968 You could even come forward and confess, yes, I've been packing my own lunch. 36:05.088 --> 36:07.028 Yes, I have a self-induced harvest. 36:07.308 --> 36:11.108 And I want to get a jump start on the new year and get this right with the Lord. 36:12.588 --> 36:16.328 Maybe today you'd be somebody who would reorient your thinking. 36:17.412 --> 36:23.152 about a biblical view of responding to trials and say, even praying at the altar, 36:23.732 --> 36:30.992 I pray that I will have a more biblical response and not be surprised by bad things when I'm walking in Jesus' name. 36:32.853 --> 36:38.953 But maybe you would say, I'm going to surrender myself and throw myself at the mercy of God's court today. 36:39.153 --> 36:45.753 And to surrender yourself completely over, there's some ways that we do that outwardly that show that. 36:45.873 --> 36:46.873 One is baptism. 36:47.113 --> 36:49.253 Baptism is like going public. 36:50.153 --> 36:55.073 So I commit internally that I'm laying myself out completely to the Lord. 36:55.073 --> 37:02.273 I'm all in for Jesus, and then we get you all in the water as an expression of that. 37:03.683 --> 37:14.043 Maybe some today would say, I not only want to be all in for Jesus and go public, but I also want to go together with his local church. 37:14.083 --> 37:21.643 And maybe you would unite with Valley Baptist Church and go together with this body of believers as we seek to glorify Jesus together. 37:23.103 --> 37:25.123 Let's right now go to the Lord in prayer. 37:25.123 --> 37:32.083 Father, we just thank you that you loved us enough to go on this journey. 37:33.603 --> 37:39.063 cosmic mission trip to come to the world, God in the flesh, and die for our sins. 37:43.683 --> 37:48.743 Father, I pray if there are those here today that have not trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, 37:48.883 --> 37:55.063 that they will respond to the gospel message that we are all sinners, that we can't save ourselves 37:55.063 --> 38:01.023 with the word Savior meaning rescuer. 38:01.767 --> 38:04.167 Father, I pray that people will just throw themselves 38:04.167 --> 38:07.827 before Jesus and say, rescue me because you died for me 38:07.827 --> 38:12.006 and rose again. 38:12.007 --> 38:18.587 Father, I pray for people today who 38:18.587 --> 38:21.327 need to go public as you lead or need 38:21.327 --> 38:26.007 to reorient their thinking, even just praying down at the front 38:26.007 --> 38:27.887 as you speak to them about that. 38:33.526 --> 38:36.546 Father, we thank you that Jesus went all in for us. 38:36.786 --> 38:43.526 We thank you that he submitted himself completely to his heavenly Father's will. 38:43.526 --> 38:48.126 Father, help us to follow in those footsteps in our daily life. 38:49.726 --> 38:56.226 Whether things are good and we praise you for that, whether things are bad, we rejoice in the Lord in the midst of that. 38:57.986 --> 39:02.186 Father, all these things we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen. 39:03.479 --> 39:04.919 Thanks for listening today. 39:04.919 --> 39:06.579 We hope you enjoyed this message. 39:06.579 --> 39:08.679 And if you did, we would be so grateful 39:08.679 --> 39:10.359 if you left us a review. 39:10.359 --> 39:12.799 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 39:12.799 --> 39:14.099 if you would like to be notified 39:14.099 --> 39:15.999 when a new sermon is released. 39:15.999 --> 39:17.639 If you feel the Lord calling you 39:17.639 --> 39:19.259 to take the next step in faith 39:19.259 --> 39:23.579 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 39:23.577 --> 39:27.037 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 39:27.037 --> 39:30.577 That's podcast to 88988 or connect with us 39:30.577 --> 39:32.957 on one of our social media platforms. 39:32.957 --> 39:36.097 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 39:36.097 --> 39:38.677 to find even more great resources. 39:38.677 --> 39:40.877 No matter where you are in your journey, 39:40.877 --> 39:43.597 know that we love you, we're praying for you 39:43.597 --> 39:46.577 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.