Turn to 1 Peter chapter 4. Patience under trials. Patience under trials. Peter continues to instruct the scattered strangers on this matter of suffering. Every chapter in this epistle has to do with suffering. Peter deals with trials. And you have to remember, it does well to remember anyway, that the people to whom Peter is writing to are going through unimaginable suffering over the gospel. As Wayne read, all the suffering here is over the gospel. Suffering reproach because of their attachment, of their union, of their witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was reading this past week where Nero would take Christians Christ followers. They called them Nazarenes. That was one of the names they called them besides Christians. They called them Nazarenes. They followed that Nazarene. And he would take them and at his parties, he would tie many of them to stakes and put pitch on them and burn them. Set them on fire to light the court while they had parties. That's what our forefathers went through. That's who Peter's writing to. These are the ones he's writing to. Unimaginable suffering. My sufferings over the gospel compared up to this point to their sufferings is like having a broken fingernail or something. It's about what my sufferings are like compared to their sufferings. It says in Hebrews that some were what? Sawn asunder. They lived in caves and dens and rocks out in the deserts by the sufferings of the early church. And this is who Peter's writing to. And if you'll remember this morning's message, the Lord talked about these trials and things that were going to come up on Jerusalem. And all these things were going to be thrown down, the temple and all this. These people lived in that time. They were living in that time and that persecution and all that suffering that went on. So keep that in mind when you look at this. He says, Beloved, he's pouring out his heart to them. He feels their suffering. He feels their pain. He feels it. Think it not strange as to say, what's going on? Why is this? happening to us? Why am I suffering so? And these are babes in Christ. This is the early church. These are babes and young men. They're just young in the Lord. And so Peter writes to them and says, don't think it's strange. Look at Job. All of God's children have suffered firing And that word means burning, like a fire, like a fire. They've all suffered a fiery trial. And he says, don't be perplexed. Don't be perplexed when some fiery trial, which is to try you, comes upon you as though some strange thing just out of the blue happened to you. No, things don't just happen to you out of the blue. They're ordained of God. Ordained of God. Now this is not the way we treat our children. We don't raise our children. We protect them as much as we can. But now God protects His children, but He sends them fiery trials. He's going to wean us from this world. As we grow older, and I know this from some experience now. I'm not old, but I'm growing older. And I know that I think more now than I ever did of being with the Lord. And I pray more now than I ever did. Lord, come and put an end to this. Come quickly. Put an end to all this. You know, I see this. You watch television. You look over the world. You just see the suffering that goes on over the world. And just, Lord, put an end to this. But he says, think it not strange to you who believe the gospel. You know, you hear the gospel. You hear what? You hear good news. You hear of reconciliation. You hear of forgiveness. You hear of mercy. And you fall down at the Lord's feet and you ask for mercy and you taste and you find that the Lord is gracious. And then one day you wake up, the next day you wake up, and you find a battle going on within and without. Well, the first time you finally entered into a real warfare. And this is what they're in. You know, all John Bunyan had to do to get out of prison, he had a, did he have a blind daughter? I believe he had a blind daughter and his wife. And he was in prison, I think, in something like 12 years. All he had to do was recant. All he had to do to come out of that cold dungeon and go home and take care of his family. And you know his wife and his daughter were suffering because he was their income. He was the breadwinner, so to speak. And all he had to do was recant and he could go home. But he sat in that cold prison for years because he would not, would not back down on the gospel. He would not deny Christ. He wouldn't do it. And so Peter here says, don't be perplexed when some fiery, burning trial comes upon you. God designed it. Your Father designed it. And He sent it. See, here's the comforting part about this. First of all, everything our God does, our Father does, He does in wisdom. And He does it for our good. And he controls the outcome. I can't control. I can discipline my kids. I can chase them. He chases every son whom he receives. And I've chasen my boys, but I couldn't control the outcome. He does. He can control it. So he designs it, and he sends it, and he sends it on purpose for a purpose. He's preparing us for glory. He is preparing us for that place that has been prepared for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. He went to prepare a place for us there in John 14, and now He's preparing us for that place. That's what's going on. He's preparing us for that place. And these fiery, these burning trials, these trials that hurt, hurt. I mean, they leave a lasting impression. A lifelong impression. God designed it. He sent it. He purposed it. And it's for a purpose. All spiritual refining goes on here. There's no refining going on in glory. There's no heartaches there. There's no suffering there. Not one beloved one that we know who has gone on to be with the Lord is weeping right now. Whose heart's broken. That's just for us. That's just for a while. And then that'll be over. But that's part of preparing us for that place. So it all goes on here on this earth. And the proving of faith happens here. Therefore, don't think it strange when God sends a fiery trial. And He will. He's faithful. He's faithful to do so. David said, He's appointed to all my afflictions. He's appointed them all. So don't think it's a strange thing. All the proving of faith is going to happen here, and it's going to happen at times in a difficult way. And note here, it's sent to try you, he said. God sent it. What you're going through, he's writing to these young believers, this young church, scattered. They've had to quit their jobs, leave their homes and leave their families and go into strange places. And he said he sent these to you, he sent them to try you, to prove your faith. I read to you this morning, it says that some will, well, let me go back over here and read it. Let me go back over here and see if I can find this place in Matthew 24. Here's what it proves. In Matthew 24, I have to find it here. And then shall many be, in verse 10, and then shall many be offended. They're offended because of trouble. They are offended because of hardship. They're offended. And then here's what's going to happen. They shall betray one another. They're going to start turning in one another to the Roman army. They'll start saying, you know, they're over in that house. They're hiding out over there. They'll start betraying one another and they shall hate one another. You see, trials prove, as I said this morning, those who are sheep and those who are goats. That's what happens when the Lord sends these fiery trials. And then there's no such faith as unproved faith. There is no such faith as unproved faith. It can't be. It can't be. There is no other way for us to bring forth much fruit without much pruning. Do you feel so sorry for the apple tree or the pear tree that you will not prune it? Do you feel so sympathetic Oh, I can't go out there and cut that tree. No, you go out there and you cut the tree. You prune the tree because you know when springtime comes, it's going to bear much fruit. And that's why he sends these fiery trials. It's a pruning that we might bear much fruit. That's why he sends them. And then he sends these fiery burning trials because there's no other way to remove the dross of sin except through these fiery trials. There is no other way to remove the dross, the impurities from gold except you put it in the furnace and heat it up. And there is no other way to remove the impurities or to reveal them to our own hearts and remove them, so to speak, except through these fiery trials that He's going to send. Think it strange. Think it strange if you do not have them. Because you'd be the only one, didn't you, if you're a child of God. He chastens every son. He scourges every son whom He receives. Is there any of us that are so good that we don't need to be chastened? He could be chasing me all day long. It'd be just to be chasing me all day long, every day, 24-7. But here's how we handle these fiery trials. Here's how we handle them. But rejoice. Well, it sounds like strange language, doesn't it? The Bible is strange language to natural man. But to the believer, Peter can say, to these believers. Rejoice! But Peter, you don't know what I'm going through. Yes, I do. You remember back in Acts when the disciples were beaten for preaching in His name? They were told not to do that, and they did it, and they were beaten. And they went back rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for His namesake. They went back rejoicing. And Peter says, Rejoice! In as much as you are partakers, rejoice in this fact that you are partakers of Christ's sufferings. If you are a partaker of His suffering, you will be a partaker of His glory. We all want that. Everybody wants that. Everybody wants to go to heaven, don't they? Everybody wants to go to heaven. But we don't want to suffer. Not naturally. I mean, it's just not something we want to do. But he says here, rejoice if you are a partaker of the sufferings of Christ. This means that you are in union with Christ. That you are a part of the body of Christ. See, our Lord suffered for us in the flesh. He suffered for sin. He put that away. But now his body, the church, while in this life is going to still suffer. Not like he suffered for sin and put it away. Not like he suffered under the justice of God, but we still suffer being in this world. And he says, Peter says here, rejoice. I've lost my home. I've lost my home over the gospel. I've lost my family over the gospel. I've lost my life over the gospel. Rejoice! Can you do that? Oh, I tell you what, Christ will have to be very real to you if you can do that. Very real. Rejoice in that you are a part of His body. You are a partaker of Christ. The sufferings that Peter is writing here about has to do with our witness of Christ, our union to Christ, And He says rejoice when you suffer for that. Being a faithful witness in this world, in this life, will bring trouble. Being a faithful witness in an ungodly world will bring tribulation. He that will live godly in this present world shall suffer persecution. To live godly is just to live for Christ. That's what it is. It's to carry on His witness. That's just what we're doing here. It's not to deny Him when given the opportunity to speak for Him. Rejoice! These trials have come our way by the will of God, and we partake of these trials because we are part of the body of Christ, and our attitude is to be this, one of rejoicing. How opposite, how opposite is the spiritual realm to the natural realm? How opposite? Rejoice. Look over in 2 Timothy chapter 2. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, In verse 12, if we suffer, well, let me go to verse 11, it is a faithful saying, if we be dead with him, if we have died in Christ, we shall also live with him. Now, we want that, don't we? We want that. But here, you know, verse 11 or verse 12 is what we have to understand. Here's what we need to understand, if we suffer, And we shall do that if we are attached to Him. We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He'll also deny us. But we cannot be a part of the body of Christ and not suffer. Not suffer these fiery trials. Not be despised and rejected of men like He was, as He was. And if you be reproached for the name of Christ, Happy are ye. Happy. Not cast down. Not crying, woe is me. Peter says, you are to be envied. You believers are to be envied. You have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake. You are bearing reproach for the name of Christ. Be happy. That's a privilege. That's a great honor. That's a badge of honor. Paul said he would not glory in anything but what? His sufferings. His sufferings for Christ's sake. That's what he gloried in. He gloried in the cross. He gloried in his infirmities. He said, I glory in my infirmities. Those are the things he gloried in. He didn't glory in his gifts that God gave him as an apostle. He didn't glory in all his abilities that he had. He gloried in his impurities. When I am weak, then am I strong. Oh, I tell you, if you really want to be strong in Christ, you'll have to become weak in yourselves. You really will. And you'll become totally dependent on Him to carry you through. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you. For the Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit of God. This is the Spirit, the eternal Spirit of glory. That eternal Spirit of glory, the Holy Spirit and of God rests, abides upon you. He abides upon you. You're not alone. On their part, He's evil spoken of because of you. But on your part, He glorified. He glorified. When you are reproached for the name of Christ, don't be cast down in your soul. Be happy. Truly be happy that you've been counted worthy to be among that number of those who have suffered for Christ's sake. And then secondly, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is upon you. He abides upon you. That same Spirit that abode upon Him as He walked through this life on this earth, that same Spirit abides upon you. That same Spirit of power, that same Spirit of grace, it abides upon you. They'll blaspheme the name of Christ because of you. Of course, they have to make things up. They always have to make things up and twist things. But on your part, be glorified. He's glorified in our conduct. He's glorified in the faith that He gives us as we walk through this life. He's glorified in our sufferings, just as He was glorified in His sufferings for us. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody. Notice how they put this busybody right in there with murder and thieves. They put it right in there. Here's what he's saying. Peter's writing to them about suffering. Suffering for Christ's sake. What an honor. It's an honor to be counted worthy. But not all suffering is to be rejoiced in. If you suffer as a murderer, don't rejoice in that. If you suffer as a thief or an evildoer, don't rejoice in that. If you're a busybody reaching into other men's matters, other people's business and trying to manipulate and control what's going on there. One writer said this is talking about reaching into other churches, pastors reaching into another church and trying to reach into their affairs. He says that's a busybody. It's like me reaching into one of these other churches and kind of stirring things up. He said, don't do that. And he puts those busybodies in the same thing as murder, thief, and evildoers. He said, now, don't rejoice in that. Not all suffering is to be rejoiced in. Only that which is for Christ's sake. Only that which comes to you because of your union to the Lord Jesus Christ. For being a Christian. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. Paul said to Timothy, Timothy, don't be ashamed of me. Don't be ashamed of the gospel or of me, his prisoner. Don't be ashamed. What is a Christian? Now today that word, that name is so misused, but you know what? It's still a good name. And it's still a biblical name, even though it's misused. You know, they use, Paul said they'll come preaching another Jesus. Are we going to quit using his name? Here's a Christian, simply put, a Christian is a Christ follower. I should say the Christ follower. He's one who follows the Lord. He is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if any man suffers for following Christ, Bunyan, why are you in prison? He's in prison. Not for being a busybody. Not for being a thief. But for following Christ. Following His Lord. So if any man suffers for following after Christ, don't be ashamed. You know, if I suffer for Something I've done, some crime or something I've done, that's something I need to be ashamed of. But if they came in here right now and locked me up for the gospel I preach, that's nothing to be ashamed of. And he's saying this, you've been ran out of your homes. Paul went and hailed, he said, men and women to prison. Don't be ashamed of that. Don't be ashamed. Rejoice that you were counted worthy. to suffer for His name's sake. Thank God, and then listen. Thank God, and he's serious about this. Thank God for the ability and the privilege to suffer for Christ's sake. Thank Him for the ability and the privilege of being able to suffer for His name's sake. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God And if it began at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel? If God sends trials, afflictions, the chastening rod, if He sends that on us, on His children whom He loves, if He will Now listen, if he will take a child of his and strip him of his home, strip him of his children, strip him of his job, if he'll do that to one of his children, if that chasing hand of God does that out of love to his child, what's it going to be when he unleashes his justice on those who despise his son? If God will do that to his children, if judgment, and he's talking here about chastening, trials and afflictions, if he'll do that with his children, what will he do to the ungodly? What will he do to the ungodly? That's why he's asking. You know, back, if you look in the Old Testament, over in Isaiah 10 and Jeremiah 25. Let's go to Ezekiel 9. Let me just show you one Scripture here. Generally, this happens. When God's going to bring judgment on a place, generally, He starts at His house. He sends a chastening rod on His house and then He deals with those outside of the house. In Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel chapter 9. Let me see the verses I want to read. In verse 5, And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite, let not your eyes spare, neither have you pity. And he had told them before to go through and mark and put a mark on the forehead. of his people, because he's going to go through and slay, slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark. And listen, now listen, and I want you to begin at my sanctuary. I want you to begin at my sanctuary, at my house. I'm going to send trials and affliction to my house. And then I'll deal with those outside the house. That's generally what happened. What awful poor man shall he be worthy of who despises the Son of God and does despite to the Spirit of grace? But if judgment, if affliction and trials begin with us for whom Christ died, now we're not under the judgment of God ever. We're not under punishment, it's the chastening hand of God. What's going to be the end of those who do not believe? And if the righteous scarcely, and really this needs to be translated like this, and if the righteous with difficulty, this is a better translation, if the righteous with difficulty be saved, Where shall the ungodly and the sinner be? Salvation is not easy. It was not an easy work. It's not an easy believism, is it? Strive to enter in, he said. That doesn't sound like something easy. Labor to rest. Does that sound easy? Not at all. This does not mean that we are barely saved by the skin of our teeth. It doesn't mean that at all. We are secure in Christ. We cannot fail. We cannot fall. He shall not lose a sheep. We are secure as secure can be in Him. But here's what it means with difficulty. If the righteous are saved with difficulty, there is a justice. There is a law of justice that has to be satisfied. Can you do it? There was only one man that could do that. And look what it did to him. Look what justice did to him in saving sinners like you and me. Difficulty. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That's difficulty. Righteousness had to be established by a man in this life. And that was not done without difficulty. He was opposed on every hand. Tried and tempted on every step. He was in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Hunger after 40 days and 40 nights. And Satan came and tempted him. Difficulty. Our salvation came with difficulty. We have a sinful nature that has to be dealt with. And it stays with us until we die. Faith. Isaiah said, Who hath believed our report? Well, just believe. Well, just believe, then do it. No man can believe unless God gives him life. Unless God gives life, unless God gives spiritual life from the dead, a man can't believe. Dead men don't believe. Man has to be regenerated to believe. Faith and repentance do not produce regeneration. Regeneration produces faith and repentance. And that's what has to happen with difficulty. Straightens the gate and narrows the way. Few there be that find it. We've got to be raised from spiritual death. If the righteous with difficulty, these difficulties, be saved, then where are the ungodly going to appear who believe not on the Lord Jesus Christ? Where are they going to appear? Wherefore, here's our attitude, and I'll close. Here's our attitude and resolve under these trials. Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God. And that's how we have to view our suffering, according to the will of God. It's not why me. And I know sometimes I feel like that. I know I felt like that. Why am I going through this? I'm suffering this according to the will of God, and let's just see what comes out of it. Here's what you do. Here's your attitude. Commit. Commit. Paul said that he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Commit it all to him. If someone walked in that door, they was going to take me and my wife and they was going to separate us and put us in prison and we're going to die. I'd have to keep, I'd have to commit the keeping of my soul. I'd have to commit to Him the ability not to recant, not to back down. I'd have to trust Him. to keep me from leaving. Commit. You can't do it. Peter's saying to these young believers who've been scattered right out of the town, he's saying you can't do this. Commit your soul. Commit the keeping of your soul to Him. Commit the keeping of your soul to Him in well-doing that you'll do well. Lord, you look at this. I'm sure when they looked at this, they were frightened. They were scared. You know they were scared. And He said, you commit the keeping of your soul unto Him in well-doing. Lord, enable me to bear a good witness for your name's sake. And have a way to do it. In well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. He's the one who made you. You didn't make yourself, you didn't make yourself the first time and you didn't make yourself the second time. You commit yourself unto him as unto a faithful creator. For he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He will not leave the work of his hands. So you commit it to him and you commit it, you rest in him and you be patient under these trials. His will will be done. And in a little while, all will be well. Where is that church now? Where is that church now? They are before the throne of God's grace rejoicing. That young church, that early church that went through all that persecution with Nero, They were burned at the stake. That church is with our Lord rejoicing. Can we do less? Okay, Mike.