Saturday, June 4, 2011

June 5th, 2011

I Peter 4:12-17, 5:6-11 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Don’t Be Surprised!
I. By Trials
II. By The Devil
In the name of Jesus, our crucified, risen and ascended Savior, dear redeemed children of God,
The other morning I was out for my morning jog and I had something happen that never happened to me before. I was running in the parkway and I saw a deer. The deer watched me closely as I approached. I tried not to look right at the deer as I passed because I thought she would surely bolt away if I stared right at her. But instead of bolting away, the deer came running right at me. I slowed and then the deer stopped and stared at me from the edge of the road. (Later I wondered if there were a fawn around that I didn’t see.) I continued on my way as the deer stayed there by the side of the road. Up the road I met a motorcycle, I waved and pointed because I wanted to give him a “heads up” that the deer was there. I don’t think he understood because he just smiled and waved and continued on. Although I think he understood my “heads up” a little better when he got up the road and saw the deer because he slowed way down. In God’s Word today, Peter gives all of us a “heads up” about what we can expect as followers of Jesus. Don’t Be Surprised. Don’t be surprised by trials. Don’t be surprised by the devil.
Maybe you have a trip to Six Flags planned this summer. I would imagine that their three years had been a roller coaster for Jesus’ disciples. They had followed their Lord as he preached forgiveness and told of the Kingdom of God. They had seen him heal the sick and feed thousands of hungry people with a few scraps of food. They had seen Jesus raise people who were dead. They watched their Lord arrested and put to death. Three days later Jesus came back to life. That must have fed into the idea still rolling around in their minds that Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples asked him, “Lord are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?” Remember what Jesus said, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Now their Lord Jesus ascended into heaven with the promise that they will be his witnesses. But does he send them out into the world right away with swords and flashing light sabers? No, Jesus sent them back to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit. There would be some surprises for Jesus’ followers. Everything would not go the way that they expected.
Then after Pentecost, when the Lord made things clear to the disciples, it might come as a surprise to us that they did not travel on roads paved with feather pillows. Instead the disciples’ road would be paved with tears and blood. First the disciples would be thrown in prison and beaten up. Then Stephen would be killed for being Jesus’ witness. Soon after that, Herod beheaded James to try to win favor with the Jewish people. Paul and Silas would later be whipped and thrown in prison for casting an evil spirit out of a young girl. The Roman rulers would soon get into the act and persecute and kill kind and gentle Christians. History tells us that they once burned an 86 year old bishop at the stake as he sang a hymn to the Triune God.
We might be surprised that God allowed this to happen, but it was all part of his plan. The more the world tried to stomp out the message, the more the message spread. The Lord uses one of those men who walked back to Jerusalem on Ascension Day to give us a heads up so that we would not be surprised by the trials that come our way as Jesus’ followers. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” At first, those might seem like strange words coming from Peter because Peter was the one who was quick to criticize Jesus for talking about suffering and dying. But the Lord had taught Peter something. When we suffer we look more and more like our Savior Jesus. “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” With the wedding last week I’m sure the children heard plenty of “Oh you look just like your dad” or “you look just like your mom.” When you and I are persecuted for our faith we look more and more like Jesus. The world makes fun of us and hates us because our actions bear a family resemblance to our brother Jesus.
I read recently that although the persecution of Christians usually gets most of the historical attention. More people were killed for their faith in the 20th Century than in all of the centuries since Christ combined. Thousands and thousands of Christians died in Russia and in China in the last century. By God’s grace we’ve been shielded from that kind of persecution. It may well come yet for us. There are people and governments that don’t like Christians very much who are gaining more and more influence in the world. If that day comes the Lord will keep us in His care. But we should not be surprised even now by trials that come to us because we act like our Savior. Problems might come our way even when we have done everything right.
How you ever thought that the unbeliever done the street has everything just perfect and my life is a mess? God points out that we should not be thinking that the wicked are getting away with everything while the believers suffer. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” If God’s people go through all kinds of suffering in this sin filled world, imagine how awful things will be for those who reject Christ when the Lord comes again.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Don’t be surprised when trials come your way because you trust in Christ. But when trials come your way more and more put your trust in Christ.
A few weeks ago police officers in Missouri responded to a call about a large alligator lurking on the embankment of a pond. An officer called a state conservation agent, who advised him to shoot the alligator because there was little that conservation officials could do at that time. As instructed an officer shot the alligator, not once but twice, but both times the bullets bounced off- because the alligator was made of cement. That gator could not harm anyone unless he was dropped on their foot. The property owner told police later that he placed the ornamental gator by the pond to keep children away. The devil would like us to think that he is really just a harmless cement alligator. Not able to hurt anyone. But don’t be surprised by the devil.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” So often the devil masquerades as our friend. He is trying to take our eyes off of Jesus so that He can kill our faith. So often we fall into his trap. We believe him when he tells us the drinking too much will take away our pain. We believe him when he says that it’s OK to sit down and watch a filthy movie. Rather than acting more and more like our Lord Jesus we have acted more and more like the devil. We’ve said things that were not true and thoughts things that the devil would think. But we have a Savior Jesus. Out of pure grace he took our place. He took the punishment we deserved. Now we want to thank him
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Because we have a God who loves us and forgives us, Peter launches into a song of praise. “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”
This week’s Meditations had an illustration of a Sunday School girl who was drawing a picture of Jesus. The teacher reminded the little girl that we don’t have any pictures of Jesus. We don’t know what he looked like. The little girl responded, “they will when I get through with my drawing.” Let’s ask ourselves, “What kind of a picture am I drawing of my Savior Jesus with my life? As we out of love reflect the Savior’s love let’s not be surprised by trials, let’s not be surprised by the devil. Amen.

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