New Suffering
Series: Vision Series 2024 - New Life
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 3rd March 2024
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 30th of July, 1967, when she was 17 years old,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:13 Johnny Erickson broke her neck diving into shallow water.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:19 During the two years of her rehabilitation in hospital,
00:00:20 --> 00:00:25 she said that she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts
00:00:25 --> 00:00:30 and serious doubts about her faith in Jesus Christ.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:36 She's written over 40 books since those days
00:00:36 --> 00:00:43 and a regular conference speaker, advisor to US presidents,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 so on and so forth, but she wrote this in a foreword
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 for another book around about five years ago.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:57 When a broken neck ambushed my life and left me a quadriplegic,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:02 I felt as though God had smashed me underfoot like a cigarette.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 At night, I would thrash my head on the pillow,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 hoping to break my neck at a higher level
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 and thereby ending my misery.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 After I left hospital, I refused to get out of bed.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 My paralysis was permanent and inside I died.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:21 You don't have to be in a wheelchair to identify.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:26 You already know that sad situations sometimes don't get better.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 Problems don't always get solved.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 Conflicts don't get fixed.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 Children die.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Couples divorce and ultimate untimely deaths
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 rock our world and shake our faith.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 When we feel utterly overwhelmed,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 we try soaking in the tub,
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 sweating on the treadmill,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49 splurging on a new dress
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 or heading to the mountains for the weekend.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 We smile and we say we are trusting God,
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 but deep down we know it's a lie.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 We're only trusting that he won't load us up with more.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:08 A remarkable woman
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 who has helped countless people
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 through the process of suffering
00:02:15 --> 00:02:16 and navigating suffering.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 She is the woman who once said,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:26 I would rather be in a wheelchair for life with God
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 than on my two legs without him.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:35 If you've just tuned in for us for the first time,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:37 we're in our vision series,
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 annual vision series on new life.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 The new life that we have in Jesus.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 What we're doing is we're building up to Easter
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 where we are looking at resurrection life,
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 what it looks like for us right now
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 and how this new birth, new life in Jesus,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 how it changes and transforms every aspect of our lives.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 And today we're looking at a new way of viewing suffering,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 managing suffering, experiencing suffering,
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 processing suffering.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 So I've got four points on the St. Paul's app
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 if you want to go there.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 The first one is the certainty of suffering.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 I get that from verse six.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 If in all this you greatly rejoice,
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 in all kinds of trials.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 Notice how that reads.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 You may have had to suffer grief.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 That statement is communicating a term
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 from the original language,
00:03:40 --> 00:03:46 which means it is necessary to suffer grief.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 It is necessary.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 It's a certainty that you will suffer grief.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 Peter is saying that suffering is a certainty
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 rather than a possibility.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 That is, we live in a broken world
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 and so we should expect it
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 rather than be shocked when it happens.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 Chapter four, verse 12, Peter says,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:15 do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 that has come upon you to test you
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 as though something strange were happening to you.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 We should be prepared for suffering
00:04:24 --> 00:04:29 because if we are not prepared for suffering,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 then we're in fact not prepared for life.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 We're not ready for life itself.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:41 There is no way possible in this world
00:04:41 --> 00:04:47 to create some kind of designer life
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 that is free from bereavement, illness,
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 financial challenges, personal betrayals,
00:04:54 --> 00:04:59 and whole range of other trials.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 Even Jesus, the perfect man,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 suffered terribly to bring about God's redemptive purposes.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 So why would we expect anything different for ourselves?
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 Sometimes I reckon that half of the pain
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 that I personally experience
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 when I suffer from a trial
00:05:21 --> 00:05:25 is from the shock of actually going through it
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 in the first place.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:31 It's because they're not expecting it.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 And yet this world is deeply broken,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 deeply, deeply broken.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 So that raises the second point,
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 which is the problem of suffering.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 Every single culture,
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 every single worldview
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 has to have some kind of response
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 to the reality of suffering,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 the reality of trials
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54 and the brokenness of this world.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 If a worldview does not have a response to it,
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 it's a defective worldview there and then.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 It's the issue
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 that every single human being faces,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 rich or poor,
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 no matter what culture you are from.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 So how does it deal
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 with the big question of suffering?
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 Human suffering poses questions like,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 for instance, the Christian,
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 how could a loving God allow so much suffering?
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 How can the hypothesis of a loving, powerful God
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 stand against the crushing weight
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 of human suffering?
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 What's your worldview?
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 What's your answer to that question?
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 Well, the famous atheist Richard Dawkins
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 looks at all the weight of human suffering
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 and declares that our universe
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 has precisely the properties
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 we would expect,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 we should expect,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 if there is at bottom
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 no design,
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 no purpose,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 no evil,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:00 no good,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 nothing but blind,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 pitiless indifference.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 That is the secular human response.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 The atheistic response to human suffering
00:07:11 --> 00:07:15 is that there is no meaning at all.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 At all.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 So what Dawkins does,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 and Sam Harris and other,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 you know,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 more prominent atheists do,
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 and the atheistic worldview,
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 is that if you remove God
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 from the equation,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 then what you have is relief.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 The problem with human suffering
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 is God.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 So take God out of the equation
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 and somehow you will have relief.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:43 In other words,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 there is no meaning,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 there is no reason,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 there is no hope,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 so stop worrying about
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 trying to find some greater purpose in life
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 when you're in the midst of trauma and trial
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 and you'll feel better about yourself.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 Already feeling relieved.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:08 But it is an incredibly bleak view
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 of the universe.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 It in fact erodes the very foundations
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 of which we balance life
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 and our humanness itself.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 If there is no good
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 and there is no evil
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 and there is no purpose to it at all,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 why is there in the human heart
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 an instinct to lament
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 in the face of suffering?
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 Why has evolution not removed that?
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 If that's all we are,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 byproducts of evolution.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 If human sympathy for others
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 is just simply a byproduct
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 of evolutionary kinship,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 which is evolutionary biologists claim,
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 then why do we empathise
00:09:03 --> 00:09:03 with the suffering
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 of those outside of our tribe?
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Why do we even empathise
00:09:12 --> 00:09:12 with suffering
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 even in the natural world?
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 Especially weaker beings
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 than human beings.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Why do we care about that?
00:09:22 --> 00:09:27 You see, the irony is
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 that today
00:09:29 --> 00:09:34 at the core of secular humanism
00:09:34 --> 00:09:40 is that they don't actually believe
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 in human beings
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 any more than they believe
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 in a creator God.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 That's the problem
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 with secular humanism.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 The secular humanists,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 for them,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 both God
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 and humanity
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 is a delusion.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 When you remove meaning
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 from suffering,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 it doesn't
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 solve the problem.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 It unravels
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 our humanity.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 It unravels
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 our very sense of self.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 secular humanism's
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 answer to suffering
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 leaves you
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 with no hope
00:10:24 --> 00:10:24 whatsoever.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:26 Human beings
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 are nothing more
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 than little kids
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 trying to build
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 sandcastles
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 in the face
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 of a relentless
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 rising tide.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 Your life
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 is purposeless.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:45 And so let me just say,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:46 and I say this
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 with all gentleness,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 but with intention,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 if that is your worldview,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 if that is your worldview,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 and especially right now,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 and I say this pastorally to you,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 if that is your worldview,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 and right now
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 you are in the face
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 of suffering,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 can I please
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 encourage you
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 in this moment
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 not to reach
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 for the placebos
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 of false hope?
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 Too many
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 who hold to
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 the secular human worldview
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 will still say
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 things like
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 the universe
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 has got some kind
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 of plan in this.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 It's not
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 God's got some kind
00:11:38 --> 00:11:38 of plan,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 but the universe
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 has got some kind
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 of plan
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 in my suffering.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 It's a placebo
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 and nothing more
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 for you
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 in the face
00:11:47 --> 00:11:47 of suffering.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 If there is
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 no God
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 and we still
00:11:53 --> 00:11:53 suffer,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 there is
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 no universe
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 to care.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 There is
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 no purpose
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 in the universe
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 for your suffering.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 There is
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 nothing but
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 blind,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 pitiless
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 indifference
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 for you
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 in the face
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 of your suffering.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 And I'm saying
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 this gently.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 You are doing
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 yourself
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 an enormous
00:12:17 --> 00:12:17 favour
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 in the midst
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 of your suffering
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 as a secular
00:12:21 --> 00:12:21 humanist
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 to stare
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 in the abyss
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 of your worldview.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 Do not reach
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 for placebos.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 Stare
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 into the abyss
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 of your worldview
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 and all
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 of its
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 implications
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 rather than
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 reaching for
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 platitudes
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 that are
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 inconsistent
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 with your
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 worldview.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 Well,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 that's
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 one side.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 One other
00:12:53 --> 00:12:53 alternative,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:54 one of the
00:12:54 --> 00:12:54 favourite
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 options
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 in the
00:12:57 --> 00:12:57 Western world
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 these days,
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 those who
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 are dissatisfied
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 with Christianity
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 on the one
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 end,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 but not wanting
00:13:04 --> 00:13:04 to jump
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 entirely
00:13:05 --> 00:13:05 into the
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 bleakness
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 of a secular
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 humanist worldview
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 on the other
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 end,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 is to go
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 middle way
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 and go for
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11 Buddhism
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 and its
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 response
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 of suffering.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 Buddhism's
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 response
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 to the
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 inevitability
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 of suffering
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 is to
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 break the
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 ties of
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 attachment
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 that bind
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 us to
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 life.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:27 In other
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 words,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:28 in Buddhism,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 to love
00:13:30 --> 00:13:30 is to be
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 vulnerable
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 and to be
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 vulnerable
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 is to
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 hurt.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 To desire
00:13:36 --> 00:13:36 and to
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 strive for
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 things is
00:13:38 --> 00:13:38 to risk
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 disappointment.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 I won't
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 go into
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 unpacking
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 it all,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 but again,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:45 you end up
00:13:45 --> 00:13:45 with the
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 same problem.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 to detach
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 yourself
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 from love,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 from striving,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 from desire,
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 is in fact
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 to detach
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 yourself
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 from everything
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 that's joyous
00:14:00 --> 00:14:00 in life,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 purposeful
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 in life,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 and therefore
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 detach yourself
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 once again
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 from your
00:14:08 --> 00:14:08 humanness.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 So let me
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 just jump
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 to my
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 third point.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 What's the
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 Christian
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 response?
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 I want to
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 say the
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 Christian
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 response
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18 is very
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 broadly
00:14:19 --> 00:14:19 a good
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 potential
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 for
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 suffering.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 Despite
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 the
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 inevitability
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 of
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 suffering,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 Christianity
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 declares
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 there is
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 a good
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 potential.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 The
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 Christian
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 worldview
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 says
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 that we
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 can
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 pursue
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 desire
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 against
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 Buddhism,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 we can
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 pursue
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 desire,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 we can
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 cling
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 to
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 attachment,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 we can
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 strive
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 for good
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 things,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 while also
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 finding meaning
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 in the
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 suffering
00:14:43 --> 00:14:43 that comes
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 to us,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 as well
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 as hope
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 for the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 future
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 in the
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 midst
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 of that
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 suffering.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:50 Peter
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 gives us
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 a really
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 helpful
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 image of
00:14:53 --> 00:14:53 suffering
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 here,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 and it
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 would do
00:14:55 --> 00:14:55 well for
00:14:55 --> 00:14:55 us to
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 reflect on
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 it for
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 a moment.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 Verse 7
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 of chapter
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 1.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:16 Gold,
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 I don't
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 know really
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 anything about
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 mining,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 so this
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 is Google
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 for you,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 right?
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 Gold
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 goes through
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 a furnace
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 and is
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25 purified.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 What Paul
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 is saying
00:15:28 --> 00:15:28 here is the
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 same thing
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 happens to
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 our faith
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 and to
00:15:31 --> 00:15:31 our lives,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 to our
00:15:32 --> 00:15:32 character,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 when we
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 go through
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 suffering.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 It's good
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 because our
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 faith is
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 far more
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 valuable than
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 gold,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 so we
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 should want
00:15:41 --> 00:15:41 to go
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 through it
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 because it's
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 more precious
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 than gold.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 Gold,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 in the end,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 will disappear
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 like everything
00:15:50 --> 00:15:50 else on the
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 face of this
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 earth.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 earth,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 but faith
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 in Jesus
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 Christ will
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 not disappear.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 It will be
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 on for
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 eternity,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 so this is
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 a good
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 process for
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 us,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 preparing us
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 for that
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 day in
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 his presence.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:03 The
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 furnace,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 the gold
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 furnace,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 does not
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 destroy the
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 gold,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 but it
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 deals with
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 the impurities.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 The
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 furnace
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 separates
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 the valuable
00:16:14 --> 00:16:14 gold from
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 the worthless
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 impurities.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 It
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 separates the
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 impurities in
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 such a way
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 that what it
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 does is it
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 brings the
00:16:23 --> 00:16:23 impurities to
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 the surface
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 so they
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 can be
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 seen and
00:16:29 --> 00:16:29 removed.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 What Peter's
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 saying here
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 is that our
00:16:35 --> 00:16:35 faith and
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 our lives
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 have lots of
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 impurities in
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 them.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 In so many
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 cases, we
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 have this
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 mixture of
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 faith in
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 Jesus Christ
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 and yet at
00:16:44 --> 00:16:44 the same
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 time, faith
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 in other
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 things as
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 well.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 Faith in
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 relationships
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 and in
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 status and
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 in children
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 and our
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 financial
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 security and
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 the list
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 goes on
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 and on
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 and on.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 The New
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 Testament, the
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 Old Testament
00:16:56 --> 00:16:56 refers to it
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 as idolatry.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 We worship
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 God, but we
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 also worship
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 these other
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 things as
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 well.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 We look to
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 these particular
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 things to
00:17:05 --> 00:17:05 give us
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 meaning, our
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 self-worth, our
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 self-esteem, our
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 self-image in
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 life.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 Whatever it
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 is, that's
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 what we trust.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 That's where
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 our faith is.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 They can even
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 be great
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 things.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 But we
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 overinvest
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 our hearts
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 in them
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 and they
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 become things
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 that we
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 hope in.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 And whenever
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 any of those
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 things, whatever
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 it might be
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 for us,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:32 whenever any
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 of those
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 things are
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 rocked, we
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 feel so
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 fragile in
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 life.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 We feel
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 fragile because
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 the things
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 that we have
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 our trust in
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 are so
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 fragile.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 Their
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 impurities
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 rising to
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 the surface.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 They're
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 fragile because
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 everything in
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 this world is
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 fragile.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 And the
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 furnace of
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 life, suffering,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 rises to the
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 surface, the
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 fragility of
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 what we have
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 put our hope
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 in.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 The furnace of
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 life shows us
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 just how little
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 we actually
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 trust in
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 Jesus Christ.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:20 suffering shows
00:18:20 --> 00:18:20 us that
00:18:20 --> 00:18:23 his love
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 and his
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 power is
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 often not
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 real to us.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 And when
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 this happens,
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 there's really
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 only two ways
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 to respond.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 Either it's
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 the case of
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 God, you
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 are not
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 enough for
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 me right
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 now, and
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 I've got to
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 also have
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 my wealth,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 I've also
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 got to have
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 my reputation,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 I've got to
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 have my
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 beauty, I've
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 got to have
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 the accolades,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 I've got to
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 have the
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 status.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 Or it's a
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 case of
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 holding on
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to God and
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 asking him
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 to purify
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 you so
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 that he is
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 your greatest
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 wealth, he
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 is your
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 greatest
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 stability, he
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 is your
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 acceptance, he
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 is your
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 love, he
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 is your
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 status.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 And in the
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 midst of
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 suffering, you
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 hold on to
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 him, I
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 want to know
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 you, God,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 in a way that
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 I've never
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 known you
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 before.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 And that
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 is why
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 suffering has
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 the potential
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 to turn us
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 into pure
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 gold.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 For
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 instance,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 suffering
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 humbles you
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 and gives
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 you a far
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 more self-knowledge
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 than you've
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 ever had
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 before.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 Suffering
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 teaches you
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 not to
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 over-invest
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 your heart
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 into good
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 things in
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 such a way
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 that they
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 become ultimate
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 things.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 Suffering
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 significantly
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 enhances your
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 experience of
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 God's love
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 in his
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 presence.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 Suffering
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 makes you
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 more wise
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 and compassionate,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 loving and
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 generally,
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 and might I
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 say this as
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 well,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 generally more
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 useful to
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 other people,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 especially
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 those who are
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 suffering
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 themselves.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 A couple
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 of weeks
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 ago I
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 used the
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 illustration
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 of the
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 forester
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 going in
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 to cut
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 trees
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 and there's
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 a bird
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 building a
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 nest and
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 he's
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 whacking
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 on the
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 tree.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Get off
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 there.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 This
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 tree's
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 about to
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 fall.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 I'm
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 going to
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 cut it
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 down and
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 the bird
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 flies to
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 the next
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 one.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 So he
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 whacks on
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 that tree
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 and whacks
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 on the
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 other one
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 and then
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 whacks
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 on the
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 other one
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 and sometimes
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 we have
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 the experience
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 of that
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 with God.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 God,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 what are
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 you doing?
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 Like this
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 little bird,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 what's your
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 problem,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 lumberjack?
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 What are you
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 doing here?
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 And what
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 he's doing
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 each time
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 is he's
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 moving us
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 from every
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 tree that's
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 going to
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 fall until
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 we eventually
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 land.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:42 And the
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 bird notices
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 when the
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 bird sits
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 on the
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 rock and
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 builds its
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 nest on
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 the rock.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 Lumberjack
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 leaves him
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 alone.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 That's what
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 God does
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 for us in
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 life.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 That's what
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 suffering
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 moves us
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 to a
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 deeper,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 deeper
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 security.
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 The only
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 hope is
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 Jesus
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 Christ.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 Malcolm
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 Muggeridge
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 was an
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 English
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 journalist
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 in the
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 last
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 century.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 He was
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 an
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 agnostic
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 most of
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 his life,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 but he
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 became a
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 Christian
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 late in
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 life in
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 his 60s.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 When he
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 was 75
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 and reflecting
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 on the
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 numerous
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 challenges
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 that he
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 faced in
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 life,
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 some,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 in fact,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 I would
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 probably say
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 many were
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 self-inflicted
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 challenges he
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 faced in
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 life.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 He wrote
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 this,
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 I can
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 say with
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 complete
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 truthfulness
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 that everything
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 I've learned
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 in my 75
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 years in
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 this world,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 everything that
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 has truly
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 enhanced and
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 enlightened my
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 existence has
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 been through
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 affliction and
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 not through
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 happiness,
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 whether pursued
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 or attained.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 In other
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 words, if it
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 ever were to
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 be possible to
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 eliminate affliction
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 from our
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 earthly existence
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 by means of
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 some drug or
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 other medical
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 mumbo-jumbo,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 the result
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 would not be
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 to make life
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 delectable,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 but to make
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 it so banal
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 and trivial
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 to be
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 endurable.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 This, of
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 course, is
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 what the cross
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 signifies,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 and it is the
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 cross more
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 than anything
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 else that has
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 called me
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 inexorably to
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 Christ.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 So my last
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 point is how
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 do we pursue
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 this good
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 potential in
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 life?
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 Notice
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 there's three
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 things in
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 some verses
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 here that I
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 want to pull
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 out, and
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 there's multiple
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 things, I
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 just want to
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 mention three.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 These are, if
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 you like, three
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 disciplines to
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 pursue in
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 order to
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 experience the
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 positive outcome
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 of suffering in
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 our life.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 The first
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 thing, really
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 simply, is
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 cry.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 Is cry.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 Verse six,
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 in all this
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 you greatly
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 rejoice, even
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 though now for
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 a little while
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 you may have
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 to suffer
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 grief in
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 all kinds
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 of trials.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 When Peter
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 writes, in
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 all this you
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 greatly rejoice,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 he's referring
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 to what he
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 said previously
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 here, all the
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 great things
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 that are gifted
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 to the
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 Christian,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 gifts of
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 new birth, a
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 living hope in
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 Jesus, resurrection,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 all the stuff
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 he's referred to.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 And then he
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 writes about all
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 the kinds of
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 trials in the
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 present, the
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 bad things that
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 are happening,
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 loss, bereavement,
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 relational
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 breakdowns,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 betrayals.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 In all these
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 bad things, he
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 says we
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 suffer grief.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 And the
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 word that he
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 uses there for
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 grief is a
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 word that
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 means agonising
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 pain.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 Agonising
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 pain.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 He says we
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 hurt.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 We hurt
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 deeply.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 And yet at
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 the same
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 time we
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 hurt deeply,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 he's saying
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 that the
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 Christian is
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 rejoicing.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 They're in
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 searing pain
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 and rejoicing.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 And both
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 words are
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 present tenses
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 in the original
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 language.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 They are
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 happening at
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 exactly the
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 same time.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 Rejoicing and
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 searing pain at
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 exactly the
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 same time.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 time.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 I think
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 too many
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 Christians think
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 that rejoicing
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 in the midst
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 of suffering
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 is what
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 some Greek
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 philosophers would
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 be called
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 stoicism.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 The
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 stoics in
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 Greek culture,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 and in fact I
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 would say many
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 shame and
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 honour cultures
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 that exist
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 today,
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 work with
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 the view
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 that when
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 trials come
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 you just
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 simply don't
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 let it get
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 to you.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 Don't let
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 it get to
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 you.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 I can't
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 tell you how
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 many people
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 I've heard as
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 a pastor when
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 in the midst
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 of trial and
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 suffering I've
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 asked them
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 how are you
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 managing,
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 I'm not
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 letting it
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 get to
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 me.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 The point
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 of 1 Peter
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 is let
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 it get to
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 you.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 Let it
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 get to you.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:15 It's not
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 Christianity,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 stoicism is
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 not Christianity
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 and secondly
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 it's not
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 even healthy.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 Read the
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 book of
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 Job.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 It's a
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 great bit
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 of advice
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 in the midst
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 of suffering.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 He
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 wrenches
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 his robes
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 and covers
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 himself with
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 ash.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 Seven days
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 he sits on
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 an ash heap
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 mourning
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 in such a
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 way,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 in such
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 mourning
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 that his
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 friends see
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 him and
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 don't even
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 recognise
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 him.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 They
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 don't even
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 go near
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 him.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 He
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 wrestles
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 with God
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 throughout
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 the book.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 He
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 complains
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 to God
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 throughout
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 the book.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 He
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 didn't run
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 from God,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 he directed
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 it all
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 to God.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 He was
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 pouring his
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 life out
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 to him and
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 at the end
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 of the book
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 God vindicates
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 him.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 It's a
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 remarkable
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 thing.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 At the end
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 of Job,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 God slams
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 his mates
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 and says
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 that my
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 servant Job
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 was faithful
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 to me.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 The first
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 principle is
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 when you
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 hurt,
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 hurt.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 Cry.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 Cry out
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 to God.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 Stoicism
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 is not
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 Christianity.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 The second
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 principle,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 is keeping
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 a clear
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 conscience.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 I get
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 that from
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 chapter 3
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 verse 16
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 that Merle
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 read out
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 for us.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 Do this
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 with gentleness
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 and respect,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 keeping a
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 clear conscience
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 so that
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 those who
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 speak
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 maliciously
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 against your
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 good behaviour
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 in Christ
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 may be ashamed
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 of their
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 slander.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 What's the
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 connection
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 here?
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 Chapter 3
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 is talking
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 about suffering.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 The suffering
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 of being
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 persecuted.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 It's a particular
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 kind of suffering.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 The suffering
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 of being persecuted
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 because of
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 your faith
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 in Jesus
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 Christ.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 It was
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 very real
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 in Peter's
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 day and
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 for those
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 who are
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 reading this
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 letter for
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 the first
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 time.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 So the
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 instruction
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 here
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 basically
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 is do
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 not return
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 like for
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 like.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 Don't lie,
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 don't attack,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 don't destroy
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 reputations.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 Keep a
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 clear conscience.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 Continue to
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 live the
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 Christian life,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 obey God.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 Now one of
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 the things that
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 happens,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 the reason I'm
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 raising this
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 as a
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 principle,
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 one of the
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 things that
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 happens,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 and Johnny
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 Erickson has
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 already raised
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 this in the
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 quote that I
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 just read out
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 to you earlier,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 is that when
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 something happens
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 to you,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 self-pity
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 kicks in.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 And self-pity
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 justifies
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 everything.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 Self-pity,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 the sweating
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 it out on
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 the treadmill,
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 the escapes
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 to the
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 mountains,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 whatever
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 Johnny Erickson
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 said,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 all those
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 things,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 the purchasing
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 of new
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 items,
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 because of
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 this,
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 what I've
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 been through,
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 I deserve
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 a new
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 couch.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 I deserve
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 this.
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 And as a
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 pastor,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 let me tell
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 you that I've
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 heard people
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 over the
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 years justify
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 even
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 adultery.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:34 because of
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 their suffering
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 in life.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 Keep a clear
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 conscience.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 Run to God.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 When you're
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 going through
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 trial, be very
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 careful about the
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 voice in your
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 head that says,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 I deserve this.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 All that I've
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 been through,
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 my, you know,
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 all of my bad
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 choices right now,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 my bad behaviour,
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 it's all warranted.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 I deserve
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 this.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 So cry,
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 but keep a
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 clear conscience.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 Trust and obey.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 Keep doing
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 things that God
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 requires you.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 Keep taking
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 your next steps
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 of faith.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 Again,
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 as a pastor,
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 over three
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 decades,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 the number of
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 people in the
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 midst of suffering,
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 how much they
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 pull back.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:28 how they pull
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 back out of a
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 community group,
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 pull back out
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 from church,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 pull back from
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 I'm just going
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 through a hard
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 season right now.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 And so they
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 pull back and
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 pull back and
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 pull back and
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 pull back and
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 pull back.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 Be careful of
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 those voices in
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 your head that
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 say, right now,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 because of what
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 I'm suffering,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 I deserve
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 this.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 The third
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 principle to
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 pursue suffering
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 is to look to
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 the suffering of
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 Jesus Christ.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 Take a look at
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 chapter 3,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 verse 18.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 For Christ
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 also suffered
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 once for sins,
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 the righteous for
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 the unrighteous to
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 bring you to
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 God.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 Now,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 we've been
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 talking here,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 Peter's been
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 talking about
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 gold being
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 refined in
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 fire,
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 in a fiery
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 furnace.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 The Bible
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 tells the story
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 of the fiery
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 furnace in
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 Daniel chapter
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 3 in the
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 Old Testament.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 It's the
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 story of
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 three young
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 Jewish men,
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 Shadrach,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 Meshach,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 and Abednego.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 A decree
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 had been
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 put out
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 through the
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 entire Babylonian
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 empire,
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 where they were
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 captives at this
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 particular point,
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 to bow down and
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 worship an
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 image,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 an idol made
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 And so,
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 Rakshak and
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 Benny refused
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 to do it.
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 They refused to
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 bow down to
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 this image,
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 and Nebuchadnezzar,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 the king,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 was absolutely
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 livid.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 He gave
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 instructions for
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 these three
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 guys to be
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 bound up,
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 tied up,
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 for the fiery
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 furnace to be
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 heated beyond
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 it had ever
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 been heated
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 before,
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 and for the
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 three of them
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 to be thrown
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 in and burnt
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 to a crisp.
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 The fire was
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 heated so hot
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 that the
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 soldiers who
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 grabbed them
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 to throw them
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 in were
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 instantaneously
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 killed.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 And so
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 Nebuchadnezzar
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 gets to a
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 point,
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 he expects
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 to see
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 these three
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 guys sizzling
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 in the
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 barbecue,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 but instead,
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 instead we
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 read this,
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 Nebuchadnezzar
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 leapt to his
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 feet in
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 amazement and
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 asked his
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 advisors,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 weren't there
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 three men
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 that we tied
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 up and threw
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 into the
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 fire?
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 They replied,
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 certainly,
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 your majesty.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 Look,
00:31:41 --> 00:31:43 I see four
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 men walking
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 around in the
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 fire.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 They're unbounded,
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 unharmed,
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 and the
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 fourth looks
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 like the
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 son of the
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 gods.
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 Notice,
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 didn't we tie
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 up three?
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 Well,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 I'm now
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 noticing four
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 untied and
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 unharmed.
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 In the Old
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 Testament,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 there's a
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 figure called
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 the angel of
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 the Lord,
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 not a
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 angel of the
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 Lord,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 but the
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 angel of
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 the Lord.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 And when
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 that figure
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 turns up,
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 he speaks
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 as God
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 and embodies
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 God.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 Now,
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 most commentators
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 agree that
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 it is a
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 manifestation
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 of Jesus
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 Christ,
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 the Son of
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 God in
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 the Old
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 Testament.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 And the
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 point is
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 simply this,
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 very simply,
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 when Jesus
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 walks with
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 you through
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 the furnace,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 when he is
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 with you in
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 the furnace,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 the only
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 thing that
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 comes off,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 the only
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 thing that
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 comes off
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 is the
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 shackles that
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 bind you and
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 imprison you.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40 that's the
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 only thing
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 that comes
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 off.
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 The
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 impurities
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 rise to
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 the surface,
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 the things
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 that controlled
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 you,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 the things
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 that addicted
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 you,
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 the things
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 that are
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 too important
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 to you.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 If Jesus
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 is with
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 you,
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 you will
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 only come
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 out of
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 the furnace
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 free,
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 unharmed,
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 pure gold.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 That is the
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 only thing
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 that will
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 happen to
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 you.
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 And how
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 do we
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 cling to
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 him in
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 the midst
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 of the
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 furnace?
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 Verse 18,
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 for Christ
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 also
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 suffered.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 Christianity
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 is the
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 only religion
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 in the
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 world that
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 says that
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 God knows
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 personally and
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 firsthand the
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 fiery furnace
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 of suffering.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 The only
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 one.
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 The Greek
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 philosopher
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 Aristotle once
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 said that it
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 would be
00:33:38 --> 00:33:40 impossible for
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 there to be
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 any friendship
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 between a
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 God and
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 a human
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 being because
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 they don't
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 have anything
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 in common
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 at all.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 Christianity
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 says the
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 exact opposite.
00:33:55 --> 00:33:55 The God
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 who made
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 all things,
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 who took
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 on human
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 likeness in
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 the person
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 of Jesus
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 Christ,
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 suffered.
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 He knows
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 betrayal.
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 He knows
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 abuse.
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 He knows
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 rejection.
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 He knows
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 death.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 He knows
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 physical
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 suffering.
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 He knows
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 it all.
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 He knew
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 what it
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 was to be
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 abandoned on
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 the cross.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 Jesus
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 Christ and
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 him alone
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 can be our
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 consoling
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 friend and
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 our sure
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 hope in
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 the furnace
00:34:26 --> 00:34:28 of suffering
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 in life
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 because he
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 himself went
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 into the
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 ultimate
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 furnace.
00:34:33 --> 00:34:36 for Christ
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 also
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 suffered
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 once for
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 all for
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 the sins
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 of people,
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 the righteous
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 for the
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 unrighteous
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 to bring
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 you to
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 God.
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 That's the
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 ultimate
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 furnace.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 The
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 white hot
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 anger of
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 God for
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 our rejection
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 of God.
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 The only
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 sinless one
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 suffered for
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 our sin.
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 He got
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59 everything we
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 deserve.
00:35:00 --> 00:35:03 if we
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 see him
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04 going into
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 the ultimate
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 furnace for
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 you, if
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07 you can
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 see that,
00:35:09 --> 00:35:13 then you
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 can know
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 that he
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 is your
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 safety in
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 the furnace
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 of life.
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 If he
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 suffered
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 infinitely for
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 me,
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 then the
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 reality is I
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 can suffer
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 infinitely for
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 him, or
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 sorry,
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 finitely for
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 him right
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 now.
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 He is
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 reliable,
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 he is
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 trustworthy,
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 his word
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 is true,
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 and as we
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 journey through
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 the Christian
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 life with
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 a sure
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 expectation of
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 trials and
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 suffering,
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 our posture
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 is to be
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 one looking
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 to him
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 and him
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 alone.
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 A posture
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 that might
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 pray something
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 like this,
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 Jesus, you
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 came into
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 this world,
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 you identified
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 with me,
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 you went
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 into the
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 ultimate
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 furnace for
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 me,
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 you suffered
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 and you
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 died for
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 me,
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 glory,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 but you
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 also rose
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 triumphantly
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 in spectacular
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 glory,
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 you triumphed
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 over sin
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 and evil
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 and death
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 and because
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 of your
00:36:08 --> 00:36:08 triumph,
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 you promise
00:36:09 --> 00:36:09 a time
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 is coming
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 just around
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 the corner
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 where in
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 your presence
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 there will
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 be no longer
00:36:14 --> 00:36:16 any fiery
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 furnaces,
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 just the
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 cool,
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 sweet,
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 delight of
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 your presence
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 and your
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 purity.
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 And so in
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 the midst
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 of this
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 suffering right
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 now,
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 Jesus,
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 hold me,
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 hold me,
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 teach me,
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 strengthen me
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 to obey you
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 and walk
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 with you
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 until the
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 great day
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 of blessing
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 comes.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:44 Amen.
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 Maybe pray
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 a prayer like
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 that.
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 Every day.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:49 Every day.