Please turn in your Bibles this morning to 1 Peter chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4, and I'd like to read from verse 12 down through verse 19. Please stand with me. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busy body in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful creator. Let's pray. Father, we pray for the full weight of this passage to fall upon us. We pray, Father God, that we would see your truth, we would know your righteous requirements, and we would know the gift of Christ and the weight of grace more than we ever have before, in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. The question we ask ourselves often is, why? Why is this happening to us? It's the most torturous question. can come back again and again, especially when you're walking through the valley of humiliation. Almost everybody asks, we've asked it this week, why is this happening to us? Why me? And the answer is this, there are a hundred billion reasons why this is happening. And there is no way that I'm going to understand it. I'm just a two-year-old, and so are you. And dad is not going to tell us why. God knows everything. God has His infinitely good purposes, infinitely wise purposes working, and we are not going to know why these things are happening to us. His thoughts are above our thoughts. We cannot know the mind of God. We cannot know the mind of God. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable, how unsearchable are His judgments. and His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has first given it to Him, that it should be recompensed to Him again. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. That's what the Word tells us. And we cannot be insisting on this. We cannot allow ourselves to press into the eternal counsels of God to insist that God share it with us. We can't do that. We need to stop asking why. It's not right. It's not for you. It's not for me to ask why. The complete answer is not available to us, but God gives us something. At some point, brothers and sisters, you're just going to have to trust God. That God is wise and God is good in all that He's doing to us. But praise be to God, He does give us something. It's not as if He doesn't give us anything. He gives us enough to know about our reality for the faith and life that we are going to live here and now. We now we we cannot settle on one factor This is another error we run into when we're traversing the valleys we we settle in on one thing But we're not to just settle in on one thing There's more to be said about it And that's why it's really important to balance out the message as best as you can which makes for a long message. I We can't break up the message. We can't break up what God has to tell us. We have to bring it together all in one place, all at one time. And that's why these verses are so important to us in 1 Peter 4, beginning with verse 12. And let's begin right there in verse 12. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. So what I want to do first is define fiery trial. We're not to think it's strange. We're going to get there in a moment. But do not think it's strange when these fiery trials happen to you. And the reason why it's described so much in this book and throughout the New Testament is because we relate to it. This applies to us. And so, therefore, we need to know what this fiery trial is. What is it? Well, first of all, it involves fire. A fiery trial must involve fire. And I did much research on what it would be like to be burned up. There are people who have been in burning houses. The most horrible thing that can happen to anybody is to be burned alive. There are several testimonies of people who barely survived a burning house. And so a fiery trial is to be burned. It's extreme pain. Fire will envelope the entire body, and all the nerve endings are affected at once. Fire melts you down, it melts your skin. It burns you, it pains you to the very core of your being. It is uninterrupted, intense, and all-consuming pain, and there is no natural, world-based comfort that can do any good for you. That is, you cannot encourage a brother or sister who is in the fire. It is impossible for anybody in the fire to be encouraged by you. Please understand this. When you're in the fire, it is only the Holy Spirit of God, it's only the fourth man in the fire who can comfort somebody, a brother or sister who's going through the fire. So the best thing you can do is sincerely cry out to God to be with him during that time. Because only a supernatural comfort could do any good for anybody who is going through fire. So the first thing is that the fiery trial involves fire. But secondly, 1 Peter chapter 1 expands on this. It's a trial involving fire with the intention of strengthening our faith or stealing our faith. I like the word to steal the faith because Our faith is often flimsy, and there's something about the fire of trial that steals it, that makes it stronger, the tensile strength increases, and it enables us to face the most unfaceable situations. It's a surprising thing when somebody is so strong in faith that they can walk through fire and they can praise God throughout. But it comes by faith. Now, this is a fire that will attend every single church and every single ministry in the world. 1 Corinthians 3 reminds us that a fire is there to burn and to reveal the wood, hay, and stubble, and that gold, silver, and precious stones will emerge out of the fire. So every church, every true church of Jesus Christ will be tried by fire. Thirdly, This immediate context here in 1 Peter 4 describes the fiery trials as sufferings like Christ suffered. It is the fellowship of his sufferings. So a fiery trial will involve what Jesus went through. It involves demonic assaults, betrayal, abandonment of friends, heavy pressure in the Garden of Gethsemane, false accusations, beatings, and the death by crucifixion. Deception and betrayal, probably the worst or among the worst of these persecutions. So somebody who will be persecuted by means of fiery trial will go through the things that Jesus went through. They are the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fourthly, fiery trials are reproaches for the sake of Christ. slander, unwarranted criticism, ruined reputations, being cast out as the offscouring of human society for the sake of Jesus Christ. And that comes from our passage as well. Number five, 1 Peter 5 and verse 8 speaks of these persecutions, these trials, as demonic. We don't blame all sin on the devil. We all take responsibility for our own sins. But when we get through these fiery trials, we have to remember that it was Satan that entered Judas. It was Satan that sifted Peter. It wasn't just Judas. It wasn't just Peter. There was an incredibly powerful force that would put an exponent upon the misery and the suffering that someone would have to go through. It is a demonic experience to go through these fiery trials. There's no question. We face the devil himself. Listen to 1 Peter 5 and verse 8. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Now, it's not just in terms of temptation, because look at verse 9 of the same passage, 1 Peter 5 and verse 9. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. That is, resist the devil, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. So what you're experiencing when you experience the fiery trials of the Christian life is a head-on assault from the devil himself. These sufferings are demonically inspired. These sufferings are more so experienced by pastors around the world than anybody else. That's one reason why I caution people from the eldership. Are you ready for your children to be shot before your eyes? Are you ready to walk into the fire yourself? Are you ready to be burned to death for Jesus Christ as you step into the pastor? I'm asking these questions in the candidates and credentials committees of our denomination because I think it's important that men understand that this is the kind of thing that will happen Leaders are subject to a good cop, bad cop relationship with the devil. The devil will try, primarily at the beginning of a ministry, to attempt to tempt a man into pornography or to attempt a man by the temptress. And then, if he does not succumb to that, the devil will come with a tormentor and beat the man to death for the next 20 years of his ministry. It will be one way or the other. It will either be the temptress or it will be the tormentor, one way or the other. This is the kind of life we live as Christians. It is a life of fiery trials. And then finally, I'm trying to define this for you so that you all will relate to this. Those of you who are Christians will say, yes, I know what this is like. I felt it myself. And I think John 16, 33 is so helpful. Jesus explains this to us so that we as Christians will be comforted and we know ahead of time that we would be facing these kinds of things. Look at John 16, 33 in your Bibles. In this world, you shall have tribulation. That's what our Lord tells us. And the word for tribulation is helpful, it's the word pressure. In the world, you will have pressure. Pressures, have any of you ever felt pressure? The vice that comes down, sometimes you can feel it in your own head, it's a physical force in your gut. You can feel the pressures. You know it's spiritual attack. Jesus describes it as a pressure. We feel it, we feel weight. It's not physical beatings. Now, if you get the idea that persecution is physical beatings, that's about 2% of it. And my readings of the martyrs and those who have experienced persecutions like Brother Oon and others, they will tell you it's not about the beatings. It's not about the beatings. It's what happens in here. It's the spiritual, it's the cognitive, it's the emotional beatings that we experience that is so intense, it presses down on us. Sometimes it's unrelenting. And some of you have felt this kind of thing for 10 to 15 years in a row. And I know even within our congregation, there are brothers and sisters who have immense encouragement to me because they're still standing. I've seen them, I've watched them go through this over not just two years, not just four years, but eight, nine, 10, 12 years of constant pressure upon them as they feel the fiery trials descending upon themselves. And some of us can't remember the last comfortable day that we've had over a period of 10 years. It's been non-stop. There has not been a moment or at least a day in which we have enjoyed life. Why? Because of this constant pressure that is placed upon us. And it's hard to describe it except the words that Jesus uses. So this is what Peter means when he says, Fiery trials to come upon you. And verse 12 again, beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you. That is, when you receive the news today or tomorrow, whatever you do, do not be shocked. Whatever you do, I don't want anybody to be shocked or to be put out by the bad news. Do not be surprised at all. Take it in stride. The idea that somehow we as Americans are exempt from persecution. Yes, the fake church is exempt from persecution in America. But not the true church. The fake church does not need to go through the fiery trials. But I don't care what church it is in America or the Western world, we are going to be persecuted as much as our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and China. Some of you may not agree with me on this. But I want you to think about it a little bit more. I want you to read the Word of God and tell me what you think later. The three largest Protestant churches in the world are the US, Nigeria, and China. They have the most Protestants and Evangelicals in the world. And these nations will suffer persecution. You say, yes, I know it'll happen in China, and I know it's going to happen in Nigeria, but it's not going to happen in America. You're dead wrong. It's going to happen here, my brothers and sisters. It will be as fiery here as it is in Nigeria. And that's one of the reasons I'm so thankful that this month we are praying for our Nigerian persecuted brothers and sisters, and we are doing it ourselves. And Voice of the Martyrs Magazine last night, we just received it in the mail. I encourage you to read the entire section on Nigeria. They are going through what we're going through in this church. Pray for them. share in their sufferings, receive their counsel. You will relate to every word these brothers and sisters are sharing with you from Nigeria. If you are in this church and if you suffer persecution, you will relate to what they are going through. Word for word, every word of it. The true church is going to suffer this persecution. And it's the animus and the spite and the spiritual opposition that comes from the devil and from the world and worldly people. See, there's a spite that the communists have for the church in China. But you know, it's the demonic force here in America and the forces that oppose the church of Jesus Christ here in America are no different than those in China. Now, the persecutions in the United States will be far more insidious. evidently spiritual, under the radar, and less newsworthy. Let me say that one more time. The persecutions that we go through in America will be far more under the radar, evidently spiritual, insidious, deceptive, and less newsworthy. There will be less physical torture, but relentless spiritual, emotional torture. with even more of an increased force. And the target will be the leaders. And this is not strange for us. This should not be strange for us. Testimonies of pastors in this valley have affirmed again and again for me that, I mean, shocking trials. It shouldn't be shocking, but it is. Why is it shocking? Why was I so shocked? Because I just didn't read 1 Peter 4, 11 and 12. Pastor John lost a daughter a couple of years ago. Pastor Jim lost his wife a few months ago. But there are more insidious attacks that are going on right now that I just simply can't share with you. It's something I cannot share with you. But this is not a strange thing. This persecution is often constant and perpetual. It may be lifelong. Listen to 2 Corinthians 11, 7, where the apostle Paul is speaking of that thorn in the flesh that was given to him, a messenger of Satan, to buffet him, lest he be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, he said, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And yes, these trials, this pressure will break you down. You'll get to the point where you're so weak that everybody looking around you will say, there's no way this guy can get back up and preach another message. There is no way that this man is gonna be able to continue in ministry. Because it does crush you, it breaks you down. It makes you so weak that you can hardly lift up your head and do another sharing of the message But here, Paul says, the word of Jesus is, keep going, my strength is sufficient for your weakness. And note also in this passage, the fiery trial comes by a messenger of Satan, that is the second cause. But God's still in control, isn't he? Who's in control of these messengers? The Lord is in control of them, he's first cause. Let's move on to verse 13 in the passage, our attitude in suffering. Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Rejoice. And that's the message of 1 Peter. That's the message of Philippians. That's the message of the apostles as they face these persecutions. Our Lord gives us the same message in Matthew 5. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. Why? Because great is the reward in heaven. Because when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Because, brothers and sisters, we don't live this life for today. This life is not our portion. This isn't for us. It's not about this life, just not. It's not where it is for Christians. What do you say to the wife of the pastor who was shot and his two sons killed in Nigeria? What are you going to say to them? What are you going to say to the church who has shot up half the members, gone, kidnapped, killed by some attack from Boko Haram in northern Nigeria? What a disappointment. Is that what you're going to say? What a disappointment. What a failure. Well, I guess that's the end of your church's long-term growth plan and mission statement. I guess that's it. Here we are, just smashed. The last words of the Apostle Paul, all men forsook me, but the Lord stood with me. That's the way our ministry is going to end. It's the way we need to see it. The ministry will end this way, that everybody is going to forsake me, but the Lord will stand with me. And nothing here matters. That's the way it is for Paul, and that's the way it is for us. Nothing here matters. All the plans that we had, all the ministry purposes and goals and objectives, forget it! Doesn't matter. Simply doesn't matter. We're not here for here. We're laying up treasures in heaven. We're smashed. Sentence of death is upon us. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1, there we are, left for dead, smashed, crushed to the ground, but it's okay. Because we believe in God who raises the dead. Same thing in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 8. Listen, we are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. We do not lose hearts. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inner man is being renewed day by day for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, meaning that he's not really focused on the light affliction, which is just for a moment. It's only here for 10 years. It's only here for 15 years. We're only gonna experience this torment for the next 37 years of our lives. Who cares? That's not what it's about. It's where we're going that matters. Our life is not about this life. Our life is about the life to come. We're investing here for eternity. You all know what an investment is, don't you? We're investing. We're putting something into the bank, but not to withdraw here. We invest in our bloodshed. Every drop of our blood, we will invest that into eternity. Every tear that we shed in our ministry, every sweat drop that we sweat, we sow in tears, reap in joy over there. We rejoice our investments. Why? Because we have a guaranteed return on the investment. And we don't want to make any withdrawals here. We don't need withdrawals here. That's not the point. Now some of you are living for this world. Some of you are living for today. This is all that matters. And so you lose something here and it breaks your heart. You lose your job, you lose some money. You lose the relationship here. It breaks your heart, it devastates you. That's because your treasures are laid up here. They're not laid up in heaven. We invest here, and it's good investment. It's the best investment we could ever make. That's why we're so happy to make the investment here, because we don't intend to make a withdrawal here. We don't intend to get anything out of this life here. Amen, anybody here? We intend to withdraw later. And that's why we rejoice. All right, let's move on to verses 13 through 16. The basis for a bona fide persecution, or the reason for a bona fide persecution must be standing for the name of Jesus Christ. And children, we stand for Jesus. We stand up for Jesus. Listen to verse 13. Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy, If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory of God rests upon you. On their part, he's blasphemed, as on the world's part. Jesus is blasphemed, but on your part, he is glorified. Some vast difference. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. So why are Christians persecuted by demonic and worldly forces? Let me give you a couple of answers to that. First, the negative that comes out of our passage. What does not constitute a bona fide persecution, that is sinful issues in our lives that invite some sort of response, negative response from somebody, murder, thievery, evildoing, meddling. People retaliate when you steal their things, and they treat you badly when you treat them badly. So if you're treating other people badly, unkindly, maliciously, with a spirit of pride and competition or something of that sort, then you can expect some kind of pushback from the world around you. It's just the way it works. People don't like people who are mean to them. And so they will put you in jail for that kind of thing. But also there's a thing called the meddling. The meddler. Now, what is the meddler? This is important because I think this is one reason why some are persecuted. The meddler is picking a fight that's not his own. It's a guy who is out of his lane, intruding into another's office, operating beyond your calling and your jurisdiction. Certain polemical organizations have lent themselves to this kind of thing. Their focus is to attack church leaders who do not reside under their own jurisdiction. They have entire websites dedicated to polemics for this reason. The church has a responsibility to warn of doctrinal error, but not primarily to go after all these leaders in other churches. A meddler also might attempt to turn the whole church into an oust-the-governor campaign. We don't really appreciate our governor all that much, perhaps, but that doesn't mean the church turns into an oust-the-governor campaign, where we would invite the governor's retaliation for that. Meddling is to pretend to have the power and authority that you have not been given. So once again, the church has a responsibility to equip you on the issues, but not to put a bunch of oust the governor signs in the front yard of the church. The church is interested in bringing the state to repentance and to see Holy Spirit regeneration by faithful evangelism and discipleship so that people will vote decent candidates into office in the next election. So that's the goal of the church. Not everybody is called to be John the Baptist, a Herod. holding up a repent sign in front of a US Supreme Court Justice's house for eight hours a day. We're not called to that kind of thing. We're not called to be tax protesters, even when our monies are extorted from us for government purposes that are ungodly. Jesus would say, lest we offend them, pay the tax. And we can use other texts throughout scripture. And so there are reasons why people are persecuted, tax protesters and others. They're not being persecuted for Jesus. They're being persecuted for other reasons. And Peter is warning us of these things. The civil magistrate does have a responsibility to prosecute people who murder, people who do bad things to other people. So if you're involved in certain sinful crimes, you need to go to jail. You're not being persecuted for the name of Christ. You're persecuted because you have sinned against God. And you need to go to jail for it. OK. But now let's talk about the positive position that Peter puts on this. In other words, real bona fide persecution occurs when we are reproached for the name of Christ. And children, that word there would be mocked. for standing up for Jesus. So there are those who are reproached for the name of Christ. And when we say standing up for Christ, we mean the whole Christ, the real Christ. Jesus has been misinterpreted by so many today, so we want to be sure that's the Jesus of scriptures. And let me give you a modern situation in which I believe this kind of thing does apply. We can be taken out of context, and they cut off our microphone, and we can't get to the point we're trying to make. But here's the point we try to make again and again, that no category of sinner can exempt himself from the grace of God and the powerful blood of Jesus Christ that will cleanse from all sin, even if they can get the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States to affirm their sinful behavior. We believe that most powerful forces on earth can say, hey, you're a wonderful gay person, but that doesn't matter. You're still not exempt from the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you from your sins. It's still open season on the part of the blood of Jesus Christ to come and get you. So that's the position that we make. But they don't want us to say that, and they certainly don't want to affirm it. They certainly want to persecute us for it. But that's, of course, why we get the most demonic pushback in our society today. We must not depreciate the name of Jesus Christ at any point. to depreciate Christ as prophet, as the one who gives us his law, to depreciate the blood of Christ, to allow some category of sinners to justify their behavior behind terms like orientation and identity, is to refuse the forgiveness of God and the justifying grace of Christ and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it makes the gospel of Jesus Christ of none effect. And worst of all, it's treachery to the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing must come out to depreciate what Christ has done for us to save his people who have broken his law. Also, we don't want to depreciate the victory that Jesus has over our sin. That also would be treacherous. That would be dishonoring to his name. So when we stand up for Jesus, we are lifting up the authority of God, the word of Christ, and the death of Christ for sin. And when we do that, we insult the zeitgeist of autonomy. What does that mean? That means the spirit of the age is blowing hard for man to determine ethics for himself. Man to do what the devil said he could do at the beginning, and that is to determine what is right and wrong, what is good and evil for himself. And when you stand up against that, you will face a very tremendous demonic force against you. So Jesus is our prophet. He's our priest and he's our king. and we lift up the name of Jesus Christ, we stand on His word, we uphold His work on the cross, we declare His crown rights. And when you do that, you will pay for it. If you dare do it, you will pay for it. You'll pay the price for it. Something we've noticed recently is people, even in this church, don't mention Jesus very much. And we're wondering, why is that? Why don't we talk about Christ very much? Are we shamed? The Holy Spirit speaks of Jesus. And God will have His Son glorified, and we must glorify His Son in our homes, everywhere. And the world doesn't want that. Let's move on. Another indication of this bona fide persecution is the attendance of the Holy Spirit of God. Here in verse 14 it says, the glorious Holy Spirit of God will rest upon you as you walk through the fire. The best example of this I could find in scripture was the man Stephen who at his martyrdom in Acts chapter 7 verse 55 was full of the Holy Spirit. He was full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. If we're going through these fiery trials, we're going to be full of the Holy Spirit. This is what is going to characterize a true persecution. And if you'll study Stephen in Acts chapter 6 and 7, I think you're going to find an amazing balance between extremely convicting blunt language and a forgiving spirit. And there's various elements here. So just follow along just for a moment, beginning up around verse 55, or even further back, verses 48 through 50, where Stephen is, again, filled with the Holy Spirit. They're rushing at him to stone him. And he asks him, which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? That's blunt. Would you agree with me that's blunt? Which of the prophets did you forget to kill? That's sarcastic. That's attack language. That's the sharpened the spear, get jabbed into the souls and the hearts of these men coming after him to kill him. He's speaking the hard words. And I know from time to time we get in trouble for speaking the hard words and bringing the javelin down hard. But that's exactly what a man who's filled with the Holy Spirit's going to do. He's going to come down hard on them with a hard word that applies directly to their situation right here. Of whom have you now become the betrayers and murderers, the just one who's come, who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it? So there it is, the convicting language, but then a vision of Jesus. Behold, I see the heavens open, Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. These are his very last words. A man who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God has these hard words, and then he's overwhelmed with the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's caught by the glory of Christ in the midst of the fiery trial. This is what it looks like if you're filled with the Holy Spirit as we're going through the hardest trials of our lives, which many of us are going through right now. We are going to speak the hard words We are going to see a vision of the risen Christ and the glory of Christ, and we'll be overwhelmed and overcome by this great and glorious vision of Jesus Christ on the right hand of the Father. And then thirdly, as they stoned him, he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. He cried out for the forgiveness of sins for those that were coming at him to murder him. That's what it looks like. that your heart's so filled with forgiveness to others, can't possibly hold it against anybody, but bring in the hard words in, not a shade of that bitterness, not a shade of that unforgiving spirit, that sense of vengeance, wanting to go after some particular person who's the source of all this pain in your life, absolutely not, a forgiving spirit, bringing in the hard words of God and getting a vision for the The Lord and Lords, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, our precious Savior, ruling on the right hand of the Father. Such a beautiful thing. That's what it would be like to be in a bona fide persecuting situation. Let's move on to the next point. Our persecution is children to the glory of God. And we are to glorify God in the persecution. Verse 16, if anyone suffers as a Christian, Let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. Our reaction to our persecution must not be shame and embarrassment. We'll view our scars, our burns, our bloody, twisted bodies in the persecution, but we're not ashamed. Why? We have a larger reason. We have a more significant purpose to the trials that we're going through. It is for the glory of God. And our interest is to see God glorified, that we would worship Him in the fire. So many of the martyrs would be singing the hymns, singing praises to God in the fire, that their own last moments would be a reflection of His glory, that God is glorious. But you say, how can we sing praises in the fire? How can we know for sure that this is to the glory of God? Well, because everything's to the glory of God. How could God possibly be glorified in a catastrophe? Like 14,000 Covenanters slaughtered in the killing fields of Scotland under the hand of Charles II and James II, or the imprisonment of 300, the last 300 evangelical pastors left in Colorado. When the 300 of us go to jail, how in the world is that going to do any good for the Church of Jesus Christ? It is for the glory of God. And we will give God the glory when the rest of the pastors, the real pastors of Jesus Christ are in prison here in the state of Colorado. We will give God the glory for it because even the wrath of men shall praise God. The wrath of Hitler, the hanging of Bonhoeffer, the wrath of Nero, the human candles in his garden praising God because the wrath of men will praise him. Absolutely. This idea that the devil wins, the devil never wins. God must win. God will win. We're not gonna be defeating or defeated or acting defeated in the midst of the persecutions. God doesn't lose. His cause will triumph. God will be glorified in the destruction of the wicked. And we will celebrate God's winning even as we're burning. Because as we're burning, God is winning. He is winning because he won and he will win. He cannot but win against the devil. And to think for a moment in your trial that somehow the evil is gonna win out, or that the devil is gonna win this thing, it's not going to happen. Because all is for the glory of God. Secondly, God uses the trials to strengthen our faith, and we've talked about this already, but this is also to the glory of God because Faith is as good as gold to God. God doesn't care about gold. God doesn't care about wealth. God doesn't care about any of you guys being wealthy. He doesn't care about any of you guys being smart. He doesn't care about success. Here's the best thing God is concerned with on planet Earth for you and for me. This is the will of God for us, and that is the growth of faith. God loves it when a man will walk into the fire. He doesn't have to be bound to the stake. They don't need rope. They could use rope if they want to, but they don't need it. He just stands there and lets his body burn. God loves faith. He wants us walking into the fire. He doesn't want us melting on the spot. We go into the fire as we are sent into the fire by the authorities or whatever force is pressing us in. It's all right, we receive it. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. Yes, we've been grieved. Yes, we cry every day now. But why? Why are we crying every day? Because God is doing something that's important to Him, that's significant, that will give Him the glory. There's something about a man and woman of faith that will not complain in the trial, receive the trial by faith, walk through it, hoping in God the whole distance, that gives God the glory. And we want to give Him the glory for every inch, for every second of that trial we experience. Amen and amen, I say. That's my testimony. God is going to strengthen my faith. I say, make it happen. God, I don't care how painful it's going to be. It is worth it to you, and it's worth it to me. Steal my faith. Increase my faith so that I am ready for the next trial, and then the next. All right, we've been through the greatest trials of our lives. Increase it tenfold if you will. But whatever you do, be sure that you steal my faith and increase my faith as I live here on planet Earth. Thirdly, God will be glorified in destroying sin in us and the world around us as well. Hallelujah. God is gonna destroy sin in this world and he will destroy it in hellfire forever. He uses trials and persecutions to purge away our sins, to burn out the dross. God is committed to righteousness. to that which is right. And he purifies by fire. Our God is a consuming fire. To God be the glory. He's burning up flesh in this world. And he will burn up the ungodly in the next world. But he's burning up our sin here in this congregation. He is burning it alive. And I say praise be to God for this. Now listen. The word is prophetic at this point in verse 17. I believe this is extremely relevant. This text is for now. If a text in scripture has ever been for now, this text is for now. I would have said it was relevant in the 1970s. It was more relevant in the 1990s, even more relevant in the 2020s. It is the most relevant text in scripture for us. Now read it, look at it. Verse 17, for the time has come. for judgment to begin in the house of God. And if judgment begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Listen, the severity of God upon his church is breathtaking. But you should check out the severity of God in hellfire forever. You think God is severe with this? Absolutely, He's severe with this church. And we will feel it ourselves. I believe the world is on the cusp of judgment. I was shocked when I put together that second chapter in Epoch, the Rise and Fall of the West. I pulled together every prophetic statement I could find from the godliest pastors, leaders, spiritual teachers in the church of Jesus Christ in the 20th century back into the later 19th century, all the way back to C.S. Lewis and then to A.A. Hodge and then coming forward to Martin Lloyd-Jones. Every respected Christian leader that I could find in the last 100 years forecasted judgment upon this country. Leonard Ravenhild says, it's already here in 1975. And guys, I'm talking about the 1930s, the 1940s, the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. But almost nobody would listen. And almost nobody listens today. And the prophets are dead now. And things are between 10 and 100 times worse today than they were when the prophets spoke. But the prophets are dead. Nobody's listening. I put them into my book, but almost nobody's listening. And things are 10 to 100 times worse today. Listen, the judgment of God is very close, extremely And judgment has come to the household of God. It came to, I believe, the evangelical church in America 10 years ago, almost exactly 10 years ago. And you all know what happened 10 years ago with the falling of certain Christian leaders around this country. And it affected us, and the fire began to burn. And personal testimony, it was at that point in my Christian life, I felt the fire, and I began to confess my sins to my brother elders. And I began to hold myself and my brothers, and they held me to tighter accounts on things like internet and such, more than I've ever done in my life, because the fear of God came over me 10 years ago, and I knew that the fire was coming to the churches, and it's come here now. The fire is at its height now in this church, and you will wake up now, or you will be judged, and you will fear, you will experience the hellfire of Almighty God forever and ever. If you do not wake up now, repent of your sins, and really embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, the offer will not be there for you forever. This is it. Society has got to be as abominable as it can possibly be. Let me ask you, is there another degree of abominations to which we could descend? We are at the very bottom. And it has seeped into the church. And it is a living nightmare. Because we are this close to annihilation as a society. 22% of Republicans squished on encoding Obergefell last week in the U.S. Senate. At that ratio, we'll have the 60 votes. No, no, we're not getting better. We're getting worse. The support for the most abominable sins have increased by 10% in the populace in America since Trump was elected. Trump may be to you a great revivalist, a great reformer for America. No, things are 10% worse today. according to the polls. We are very close to destruction. I don't know how God will destroy society, civilizations. Will this be the end of the world? I don't know. But I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, wake up. At least would you listen to every major pastor, Christian leader of the last hundred years? Would you at least wake up long enough to read that? Would you please wake up? Would we all wake up? Would we realize the judgment has come to the household of God today ourselves? The earth itself wearies of it. You know, prior to Israel inheriting the land of Canaan, Leviticus 18.28 says that the land vomited out the nations that were before it on account of sexual perversions. The earth itself wearies of it and at some point refuses to tolerate the flagrant violation of the created order. Somehow the creator has hardwired a safety valve into nature. That's why it's very possible for roughly half the world's population to be wiped out in the next 10 years. I would not be surprised if that happens. The creator has hardwired a safety valve. The earth itself can't tolerate what's happened. The wholesale killing by abortion, abortifacients, we've talked about all this stuff. homosexuality, pornography. It just simply cannot continue beyond a few years or a few decades from now. I don't believe it can continue. Now, God may have winked at the idolatries and perversions of the sodomites, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans. The Persians, you know, it didn't last for more than about 100 years. They began to get into this kind of stuff, it lasted for about 100 years. The Greeks got into it, it lasted for about 200 years. The Romans got into it, it lasted about 200 to 300 years. It may last for 20 years here. Because God isn't weakening at this anymore. And judgment begins in the household of God. The abominations have seeped in here. And don't get the feeling that other churches have been preserved. The Mennonites, I've spoken to Mennonite leaders and they tell us the same thing has happened in their churches. You can say, well, we can all get the funny little hat and go plow fields, get rid of our iPhones. Not enough. Not enough. It's too late for that. You're gonna have to excise the fleshy portions of your heart by the power of the risen Christ and the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you. Either that or it's bust for you. I'm sorry, we're way past just getting a decent covenant ice filter. That will not be enough. Not now. The abominations have made it in the household of God. And that's why over the last 10 years, from 2012 to 2022, judgment has begun in the household of God in America. And the fire is burning. And now, my brothers and sisters, every R-rated movie that flagrantly violated God's law that we countenanced in our homes in the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, 2000s, another degree of heat for this church. Every R-rated YouTube that you countenanced, another degree of heat for this church. Judgment begins in the household of God. Every second that we countenanced a bad website, another degree of heat. Every worldly idea countenanced through radio stations, through clothing styles, through language, irreverent conversations. Every time that you had spite for the church and love for the world, You didn't love your brothers and sisters, but you seem to be drawn to the world and its movies. Every second that happens, another degree of heat for the church. Every hidden sin, well accounted for by Almighty God, every self-justification, every compromise, every synthesis with the world, every refusal to walk in the light, every hypocrisy contributing another degree of heat for the burning in the church. 3,000 degrees, 4,000 degrees, 5,000 degrees. Judgment will begin in the household of God. Our God is a consuming fire and he will purify his church. Because judgment begins in the household of God. Hallelujah. And I hope every believer now, I know these are severe words, but I hope every believer says, you mean more purity in the church? You mean less abuse in the church? You mean more righteousness in the church? Every God-believing, Jesus-loving person in this church would go, Hallelujah! If your heart is right. If your heart's not right, you're not saying Hallelujah. You're not agreeing. You're not saying Amen. We don't dread the fire. Our reaction's not dread. Not at all. I wouldn't have it any other way, would you? We want to worship God with reverence and godly fear. We know He has our good in mind, the holiness of the church. And God is not just going to let this thing go. Judgment is coming upon America, and probably on the whole world, because judgment has begun in the household of God. First here, then out there. First our turn, then it's their turn. As the fire burns, what can we expect? I'm coming to an end here. But as the fire burns, what can we expect? What's going to happen? Three things. Number one, we're going to discover that there was a lot of wood hand stubble in this church. We thought there was progress. There wasn't any progress. There's a lot of fakery and hypocrisy and fake conversions and things. We're going to see there's a lot of wood hand stubble. It's going to go up in the smoke. It will, and we can fully expect that. Absolutely. A lot of wood hand stubble up in smoke. But secondly, we will discover gold. What is coming out of this trial? What's coming out of the judgment that God's bringing to the household of God is going to be some gold. Precious gold, the growth of faith, real faith, real love for one another. These are the highest values in all of creation and all of the universe. These are the things we want more than anything else. We are going to find steadfast faith of men and women of God who are going to walk through that fire. They're going to continue on, and they're going to be stronger than ever, and they're going to love the brothers and sisters, and they'll be laying down their lives for brothers and sisters unlike anything we've seen before. The Lachmans say, hey, we want to help some immigrants into this country, and we want to be as a church loving on them, they're not going to have to cancel the program. Because there was nobody who showed up, or very few that were really interested in helping. I'm sorry for pressing this hard against you, brothers and sisters, but there's nothing I want more than to see the love of God, the supernatural love of God, just blossoming in this congregation. and this self-centeredness and all of the things that have contributed to this horrific condition within the church of Jesus Christ will be increasingly wiped away and we'll begin to see true faith, the love of the body, the love for Jesus just overflow in our body. There's nothing better than that as pure gold for our body. Thirdly, as the fire burns, here's what happens. We will discover that something is going to die if something is going to live. There will be some funerals here in this congregation, speaking spiritually. We will be burying the old man. The old fleshy part is gone, but we will rise up and walk in newness of life. I think we're a dying church. I am dying. I'm dying. I am dying to whatever we used to be. I'm dead to that now. Praise God. I want to live. I want to live. I want that old dead thing to just pass away and that there's newness of life in Jesus Christ. This is what I want more than anything else. The life of Jesus will be manifest in our dying. You're not gonna get the life of Jesus unless there's a death, unless there's a funeral. And as the funeral is happening, then we begin to feel the real life of Jesus surging through us and a supernatural love for God and love for Christ and love for his church unlike we've ever seen before. But something has to die if something is going to live. Let's end this message in verse 19. This is our reaction, this is our duty, this is what we do in the fire. Sometimes we just seize up in the fire. No, no, no, no, oh, no, no, that's not what it says. What happens in the fire? Listen, guys, this is our reaction to it, our duty, our mission. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful creator. So what do we do? We do good. We do more good. We volunteer for more of laying down our lives for the immigrants, laying down our lives for the persecuted body of Christ. We do more good. We don't sit there and mope in self-pity. We don't sit there and feel bad about everybody else and point fingers. We don't blame God. No, no, no, no. We rejoice that we suffer for Jesus and we do even more good. You know what the devil wants? He wants me to stop. The devil wants me to stop. The devil wants me to run away. And there have been moments in my life, and my elders, my wife can testify to this, where I've said, I'm leaving. There's nothing more I can do for this church. I just got to go. I got to get away from this. And then 10 minutes later, I call Josh back up and say, no, I'm facing the enemy. I'm facing the fire. I'm continuing to walk through this. I know what it is to want to just kind of back away and say, I'm done. Obviously, God doesn't need me in this anymore. But no, it says here, I read this on Saturday and I said, I've got to stay in it. I've got to do good. I can't give up. I can't lose heart. I've got to be engaging in well-doing. I can't be weary in well-doing. Oh, no. Perseverance is easy when you're sitting on the beach sipping a root beer in Maui. Perseverance is hard when you're tromping through a bog, a bug-infested jungle in a 758-day battle with the enemy in Vietnam. That's where it's hard. And the devil wants you to give up, he wants you to back away. Uh-uh, we're gonna continue to do good in the fire. That's what I'm getting from this text. A response to trials must be encouragement. A brother sent me encouragement this morning, in which I was encouraged by the word of God to continue, not to be discouraged, but to get more courage to continue on. Absolutely, a response must be encouragement, realizing that God is working in us, God cares about us, God is doing something amazing in us. And God's agenda is happening, and we're encouraged by it. I'll close with Hebrews 12, 11. Now, no hate chastening seems to be joyful for the present. Get that. It's painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness, praise God, to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, here it is, guys. Here's what you do in the fire. Strengthen the hands which hang down. Put your hands up if you're in a trial right now. Get them in the air. I think that's helpful. Get them up. Don't get them down. Get them up. Be encouraged. Get your hands up. Bring up your feeble knees. Make straight your paths. That is focus. Walk straight ahead. Don't be distracted anymore by all these other pathways. So that when, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. We are healed in the walking. We're healed in the pursuing. We're healed in the doing good in the fire. Good things continue to happen to us in the fire because there is that fourth man in the fire. Amen and hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise be to God. Father, we praise you for the fire. We thank you for the fire. Father, you glorify yourself in the fire. Father, you preserve us in the fire. Father, you increase our faith in the fire. Father, you're doing a work in this church in the fire. You're bringing together gold in the fire. You're testing us, you're trying us, but you're making gold out of us in the fire. And we know this is your infinitely good plan, and this is your infinitely wise plan, and we will come through it with you. because you are with us. Father, give us your Holy Spirit that we'd be like Stephen, who speak the strong words, but also love his enemies, forgive those who are doing these dastardly things to him. Have that spirit of love and forgiveness as Jesus does, and then see the glory of Jesus on the right hand of the Father as they are in the fire today. I pray that for my brothers and sisters here, my brothers and sisters in Nigeria and China and everywhere around the world, in Jesus' name, amen. I want you to point you to Jesus. Look into Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Romans 8 describes our life there, doesn't it? When it says that we are sheep to the slaughter, but more than conquerors, through Him who loved us. It's a twofer. Amen? It's a twofer. You get both. This is our life. We are lambs to the slaughter, more than conquerors. So which is it? It's a both and. We are both. As described here in Romans 8, it describes the Christian life. But why is that? Why is that us? Because that was Jesus. A lamb to the slaughter, more than conquerors, both. And we follow Jesus. And a servant is not above his master. If he was a lamb to the slaughter, more than conqueror, so we. He was the lamb to the slaughter. As a sheep of Hor, his shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Now a bull or a steer, my understanding, they might run away. You're about ready to execute a bull or a steer, that bull might be pushing, shoving you right and left a whole nine yards as you go that distance. But not the lamb, not the lamb. Lambs don't run away. Lambs don't defend themselves. Jesus was a lamb to the slaughter. Now, He was quiet. He was dumb. He opened not His mouth. Sometimes we complain about our trials. Shame on us. Amen? We say, this shouldn't happen to us. We say, why is He doing this to me? Complain. Not so Jesus. How does Jesus behave Himself? at the trial in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then as He's hanging there on the cross, we get the whole story in Matthew 26 and 27, don't we? Jesus is quiet. You get the impression He's not fighting against it. There's a willingness. There's a submission. He's gladly submitting to the will of His Father. Now, I think one of the greatest, if not the greatest verse in the Gospels, John 14 in verse 30 It's a phenomenal verse It's just a verse that we'll be thinking about through all eternity This is what he says memories. He's in the upper room. They're about ready to leave They're walking out the door and there's the last thing he says in the upper room He turns to his disciples and he says this remember he's going to be crucified. He knows it He's going into the garden of Gethsemane. He's gonna sweat great drops of blood. It's going to the cross. I What does he say there in John 14 and verse 30 the prince of this world is coming. That is a massive Spiritual attack is going to happen unlike anything that's ever happened the universe in all the history of the world It's all coming down guys. The prince of this world is coming and he has nothing on me He has nothing on me. He has no force. He has no power. He cannot possibly discourage me in this trial why because That the world may know that I love the father And as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. That's the spirit of Jesus. So if you want to know how Jesus is a lamb to the slaughter, that's it. He loves the Father in the trial of all trials, in the spiritual attacks of all spiritual attacks, the most horrendous experience that's ever occurred. Jesus went through it out of pure love for the Father and submitting to the will of the Father. And he was silent, and he received it. And the Father accepted the Son. The Son became a curse for us, and the Father accepted the Son. The Father accepted the sacrifice for our sins, well, because God delights more in obedience than sacrifice. Now what he gets is an obedient sacrifice. And so this today represents the most obedient sacrifice, the only obedient sacrifice, the only perfectly obedient sacrifice, in the history of the world. That is Jesus perfectly, obediently, lovingly sacrificed himself in perfect obedience to God. God looked at that and said, I love it. I love him. I accept him. And I accept all these people with him. And that's what's happening here. Jesus cannot accept you until he's accepted his son. And He accepted His Son when He accepted His Son's sacrifice on the cross for your sin after His Son became a curse for you on that cross. God delights in His Son. He delights in the obedience, the bleeding Lamb of God. But the bleeding Lamb of God is also more than a conqueror. You look at Him and you say, no, here's the bleeding Lamb. He doesn't look like a conqueror. His face more marred than any man. Blood dripping down his face. Nailed to the cross. He doesn't look like he's winning. And I know there are times at which in the fires we're experiencing these things, right brothers? As lambs to the slaughter. Do we look like we're winning? We don't look like we're winning. Jesus didn't look like he was winning on that cross. But he was more than a conqueror. He was more than a conqueror. He is the victor. He was winning. That's how He won. That's how He won our salvation for us. The world died that day. The devil died or was dying. Death died by His death and resurrection. Hallelujah. That's how He won. So as we approach this table, it's with gratitude. It's with a sense of awe and reverence and knowing that our Savior went before us as the ultimate sacrifices, the ultimate pain and suffering and all of the horrible things that could ever happen to a person on earth. He received that upon himself and he was more than a conqueror. through his sacrifice for us on that cross. And in that spirit, we're moving ahead ourselves as lambs to the slaughter, more than conquerors through him who loved us and was more than a conqueror through his sacrifice for us on the cross. Let's remember Jesus. Let's remember him as we come to the table. Remember the perfect sacrifice, the obedient sacrifice, the loving sacrifice. Jesus loved his father so much on that cross. You know how much He loved His Father? With a perfect and infinite love as the Father poured His wrath down upon Him. He loved His Father and He took the wrath of His Father in pure love and obedience to the Father. Oh, these are all inspiring considerations, aren't they? Let's just meditate on them for a moment and pray. Father, we're overwhelmed by the love of God. the love of Jesus, the love of Jesus for us, the love of Jesus for you, the willingness by which he went to the cross. He wasn't holding back. It was pure love driving him to it. And it was your love for us that set it a course for this great sacrifice and this wonderful redemption that you brought to us, Father, that we would value it more, that we would love you. that we would receive this sacrifice with more faith and to know that this is the most glorious thing, the Son of God on the cross, a lamb to the slaughter, yes, but more than a conqueror, overcoming the principalities and powers to establish His kingdom, to die for His church, have Himself a bride for all eternity. Father God, these are great and wonderful things. And we are not worthy to receive it, but you have drawn us in by your own love. And we receive this now in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.