Suffering for doing Good

1 Peter 3:13~4:19

Guido2011.7.20

1) Before the Earth was created, there was suffering.

• Before you and I were ever born…• Before Adam and Eve ever existed…• Before there was life on this Earth at all…• Before there were stars, or sun, or sky; before

there was even light shining in our world…• Before this world ever came to be… There had

been suffering.

• Peter portrays Jesus Christ as “…a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the World…” (1 Peter 1:19)

• And in Revelation 13:8 we read:“…The Lamb [Jesus Christ] that was slain from the creation of the world.”

• Yes, before the world came to be, Jesus Christ had already been chosen as God’s perfect lamb… he had already been destined to die for you and for me… and what’s more: HIS SUFFERING HAD ALREADY TAKEN PLACE IN HEAVEN.

Before anything else existed…

He had already suffered!!

• The center of the Gospel is the Suffering of Christ.John 3:16 says that “God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son…”God gave his Son in pain, in sorrow, in suffering.

• So it is only natural that the Christian Life should also carry suffering with it.

• Jesus said: “It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! (Matthew 10:25)So, if Jesus suffered and was persecuted, we should expect the same for ourselves.

• Jesus also prayed: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” (John 17:14)

Movie: Independence day （独立日）

The entire world fighting against the Aliens, fighting against that which does not belong to this world.The world will always fight and oppose to whatever does not belong to it, or whatever does not fit in its evil scheme.

2) The alien seed• “I have given them your word and the world has

hated them for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” (John 17:14)

• The word of God is like a seed. An alien seed, for it does not come from this Earth, but from God himself. It is our responsibility to water it, guard it, and provide the right environment for it to grow. And when it grows, it takes over our lives… completely.

• This seed grows into something totally different from the standard of the World.

• As it grows, this seed will take over our thoughts, our values, our habits, our personality, our temper, our character, our whole self… and we will grow less and less like our old selves, and grow more and more like the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).

• As it grows, this seed will make us more and more unlike the pattern or the world. So it’s only natural to think that the world shall try to make war against this seed, planted in our hearts by God.

3) The ever growing conflict

• “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

• The apostle Paul makes it clear that we should expect opposition from the World after we become followers of Christ. In fact, it gives no exception, but says that “EVERYONE” who wants to follow Christ, will suffer.

• Jesus said:“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

• We are compared to the light that shines in the darkness, and to a city that’s settled on a hill. As the word of God becomes real in our lives, we’ll become more and more obvious targets for the world. Our actions will expose us more and more, showing who we are: strangers in the world.

• And as our “true identity” becomes evident, the world will grow more and more sensitive and cold to us: our coworkers will look for any chance to blame us and stir up troubles against us; our old friends will treat us more and more distantly, as we try to live out our faith among them; our neighbors will look at us as if we were strangers when we talk about Jesus; even our family and relatives will be ashamed of us, and will even lie about us, making fun of us, and trying to discourage our good intentions whenever we make a mistake.

• And it’s not till these things happen, that the true essence of our faith is revealed: how do we respond to these things? Slapping back those who slap us, or turning the other cheek?

• And what happens when we have to lose in order to win? For example, at work: “If I lie to my customer, I could get this business, and then my boss would promote me…”, or “If I do this and that, I could avoid paying taxes, saving my company a lot of money… then I can get a better position, a better salary, a better life…” or, “If I make this ONE SIN, I could win a lot!!, I just have to overlook THIS ONE biblical principle, that’s all!! Come on! Nobody’s perfect, just this one time!”

• Or maybe a more specific example:• You and your coworker are working on the same

project. This is a very important project for your company, and both you and him have been entrusted by the boss to make this project happen.

• Everything goes well, until your coworker decides to take illegal measures, to speed up the process.

• As a result, your boss promotes your coworker, and makes him your supervisor. Although you tried to be godly, and decided to do things the right way, he gets the promotion, not you.

• You might say “Why?” “What’s wrong with being godly? Why the wicked is promoted, when the godly is looked down on?”

• What do we do when our faith gets tested?• What do we do when we know that choosing for

God will make us suffer?• What do we do when our non-christian parents

are against our faith, and determined to make us quit?

• What do we do when we have to decide: God or the World?

• Do we decide to fulfill our destiny as light of the world, no matter what? Or we just step back, and go back to being darkness?

• Jesus said:“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

• The times we are living in are evil, and very difficult. The 21st century is a very scary time to be alive. The line between good and evil becomes very blurry at times, and with the pressures of life, we may tend to grow weary of being different. We feel alone, sometimes even strengthless.

• Nevertheless, Jesus encourages us to “let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

• If we suffer because of our belief, we can rejoice, because we are linked with Christ who suffered for us. And when we suffer, we have the opportunity to tell everyone, with gentleness and respect, why we still have hope in the time of our suffering. When evil men bring false charges against us, they may be brought to shame – not when we return insult for insult or evil for evil, but when we stand tall, model Christ’s attitude, and suffer with patience and a clear conscience.

4) The promise• “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of

righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven! (Matthew 5:11~12)

• In this world we will lose. However what we lose is nothing more than material worldly things, that can never be compared with the reward.

• After all… what do we want? A reward that will perish together with the world, or a reward that will last forever?

• Jesus clearly said “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

• The standard of the world is quite opposite to the standard of His Kingdom. In His Kingdom, it is those who lose their lives for His sake, that will actually find life. If we want to earn a heavenly reward, we have to give everything up here, for that purpose.

• If we want to be winners in His Kingdom, we need to make ourselves losers in this world. If we want to succeed in His Kingdom, we will have to fail to be a part of the world.

• So as long as we live on this Earth, under the dominium of the Devil and his system, we will face sufferings. As long as we live here, and until we meet our Lord face to face, our sufferings are our pride, our glory, our joy. Everything we do, we do it for HIM and HIM ALONE!!

• Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28~30)