I want to spend these times, as Dr. Speer has alluded to, to looking at a series that I'm calling Living Under the Cross. The past several summers, I've spent time just meditating on Calvin's little book, A Guide to Christian Living. It's an excerpt, really, from his Institutes about the Christian life. And there's a chapter in there It's actually called Living Under the Cross. And through my meditations on that, as well as just some things I've witnessed in the life of the church and people close to me, I wanted to bring these meditations to you this morning. So let's open our Bibles to 1 Peter 2. Excuse me. 1 Peter 2, 19 through 25. You can find that on page 1213. And your Bible's there before you. 1 Peter chapter two, beginning with verse 19. Please hear the word of God. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God, A person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience. But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose. since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously, And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by his wounds, you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Let's pray and ask for God's blessing. Our God and our Father, as we continue on in your word this morning, we ask by the power of your spirit that you would open our hearts to its message. And Father, that you would please fit us for the calling that you have on our lives. I thank you for this particular congregation of your saints. And I pray this morning, O Father, that through your word and spirit, you would minister to them in unseen ways, encouraging them, preparing them, revealing to them, O God, your ways. For I ask it, I pray it through the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Well, as Christians, we cannot remove ourselves from living under the cross. For bearing the cross is central to our identity as followers of Jesus Christ. We heard the call of worship this morning. where Jesus tells us, he was saying to them all, if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Or later on in the book of Luke, he says in chapter 14, verse 27, whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So that raises the question, what does that mean to live under the cross? Let me define it this way. Living under the cross means that because I believe that Christ died to deliver me from my sins and has risen to give me a new life in him, I am now to die to my own desires in order to willingly obey him as the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ in a life of discipleship. Let me say that again. Living under the cross means that because I believe Christ died to deliver me from sins and give me new life in him, I am now to die to my own desires in order to live a life of willingly and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ in a life of discipleship. Living under the cross then means that we follow him wherever he takes us. That's really the intent of verse 21. You have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. Now, living under the cross is not easy. And we can stumble under that. Now note that stumbling under the cross is significantly different than stumbling over the cross. Stumbling over the cross is a whole different subject. And really it's one that Peter treats a little earlier in this chapter. Back up in the beginning of this chapter. right around verses six and seven. He talks about those who stumble over the cross because Christ has become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Stumbling over the cross means that you don't believe the message of the gospel in the first place, that you resist the call. And I hope this morning that's not true of any of you, that you're here this morning because of faith in Jesus Christ. Friends, don't stumble over the cross. Don't get offended by Jesus. Don't get offended by his church because it tells you that you're a sinner and that you need to be saved from your sins and that you have to place your faith and life into the care of Jesus Christ so that he might save you. That would be stumbling over the cross. Living under the cross. and its difficulties, sometimes even its disillusionments is different. We can stumble under the cross's weight, under the burden that we feel, under the direction that following Jesus Christ is now taking us. And it didn't seem to be that way when we first became Christians. Many of you might think this way. When you first started off on your Christian journey, it wasn't all that difficult, perhaps. Jesus's words, my yoke is easy and my burden is light, seem not only to describe his commands, but his providences. It was a great joy to follow Christ initially. Smooth sailing for a time. But then we encounter a trial. A relationship turns bitter if someone wrongs you. Health erodes away from you. Job is taken from you. A family member suffers unbearing difficulties. Sin persists and it seems to continue. to fight so strongly against you. A church that you were attending hurts you. Living as believers in this world can be exceedingly painful. And as that 73rd Psalm says, as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps had almost slipped, the psalmist says. Living under the cross, as Peter speaks of it here, is living under the sorrows of this world. So how do we live under this duty of cross bearing? Well, by seeing it as being placed upon us by the loving hand of our Father, by three means I think that we see revealed to us in this passage. We're gonna look at this by looking at a passion of purpose, a passion of purpose, and then an example par excellence, and then finally through steps of submission. So first of all, a passion of purpose. A passion of purpose that is fitting and unique to each one of you. That's what we must first learn Bearing a cross is our calling as Christians. Peter describes this cross as the sorrow from suffering unjustly. What he means by that is that you're not suffering because you've done something stupid or foolish or disobedient to God, but rather you're living faithfully before the Lord. And because you're living faithfully to Him, you begin to suffer consequences as a result. But in verse 21, he says, you've been called for this purpose. And that's what we've got to get ahold of today. Or maybe better, we should say what needs to get ahold of you today, is that you've been called to this very purpose. As a Christian, you are to suffer for Jesus Christ in a way that is fitting and unique to each one of your lives. You are to bear your cross that he is fitted to the conditions of your life, your personality, and your relationship with him. And we get these ideas together from verse 21. Again, he says, you've been called for this purpose. What purpose? I think it's taking us back to verse 19. For the sake of conscience toward God, you bear up under sorrow. for your own conscience before God, you're called to bear up under the sorrows of this world. And then by saying that Christ, in verse 21, has suffered for you, we think about how he was called to suffer. He was sent on a unique mission to this world. And in the same way, we have been called to follow him as well. Often young people think along these terms of calling and vocation. They're trying to figure out as they reach their late teenage years, early 20s, maybe longer, you know, what is my purpose in this world? What is my calling? What has God made me to do? It can be a very difficult time to journey through that, trying to figure out what God has called you to do. And sometimes when you, or talking to young people, you'll ask them questions. And one of the questions we often ask is, well, what's your passion? What drives you, motivates you? What do you want to give your life to? That word means, passion means an intense, driving, overmastering feeling or conviction. What gives us emotional satisfaction? Let's remember the root of that word passion. It's really a word that means suffering. We can put that together here this morning. We have a passion or calling from God to suffer for him in this world. That's our, our vocation, what he's called us to do. And we have to receive this calling like we receive other callings. It's interesting, this passage is found in the context of the Apostle Peter reminding the people of God of other callings in life that they might have. Back up in verse 13, he reminds us that part of our duty living in this world is to live under civil government. And it's interesting, the word he tells us to, you know, in order to, Follow that calling to live under civil government. He tells us we're to submit to it. We're to receive that as part of our assignment. This is followers. In verse 18, he talks about servants living under unbelieving masters. And they were to receive that from God. And the way that he tells them they're to receive that from God is that they are to submit to that calling. Later on in chapter three, wives who might find themselves, believing wives who might find themselves in a relationship with an unbelieving husband, they are told to submit to that as part of their calling. And that's what we are to do as well as God's people. We are to submit sometimes under the unbelievable difficulty of the cross, because that is our calling as His people. Back up in verse nine, we have that wondrous calling there. You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. that you might proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And there it's beautiful, you know, royal priesthood, holy nation, God's people, that's our calling, proclaim His excellencies. But this passage gives it more context. So often that calling that's on our lives is a calling to suffer as a priesthood, to suffer as his people, as we follow him. Some would like to preach another message, to preach that being a Christian is an experience that involves God removing all the difficulties out of our life, but that's a false gospel. That's the gospel Joel Osteen preaches. When he says things like this, God is not moved, I quote him, God is not moved by our tears, but by our faith. It's a horrible thing to say to the people of God. We are told by God's word, our tears are kept in a bottle by the Lord. Written in a book, recorded by him. He knows our pain and our suffering. In contrast, John Piper encourages us, we magnify God every time we choose the superior worth of God over deliverance from our cross. As you're here this morning in the presence of the Lord, you're thinking, what is my cross? One question that might bring it to mind, I probably don't even need to bring it to mind, you know what it is, but just in case you need a little help, is that there's one thing in your life that could be removed right now that you're bearing. What would it be if you could just have it taken away? What would it be? Mocking that you're undergoing because of your faith. A too painful relationship because someone's rejecting you. Sacrifices that you're called on to give because you are following Jesus faithfully. Maybe God's brought some sorrow into your life, such as widowhood. Or in our case, an older son who is living apart from the faith. And every day and every night we cry and ask God to remove these crosses from our life. And in some of them, it's okay to desire that removal. But you wake up the next day and it's still there, pressing, hurting, bringing new tears to your eyes. What do you do? Well, when you're called to be a doctor, or a mechanic or a father or mother or teacher or soldier or student. What do you do each day when you wake up and the responsibility is still there? Accept your assignment. And you realize that you're called to be a cross bearer because that's what being a Christian really means. John Calvin states it this way. Real piety holds. that it is God's hand alone that governs fate, both good and bad. And since his hand is neither hasty nor unthinking, it dispenses prosperity and adversity in a just and orderly way. And we see that our passion, our suffering, But we may not understand it, it has purpose. And we'll be talking more about this in the weeks ahead. But for now we realize it's our calling. It's our duty as Christians. But how God gives us help in this. We want to turn now to the example. The example par excellence. We are not left alone in our cross bearing. Perhaps this is the most heaven-glorified, soul-satisfying, joy-producing aspect of our calling, is that we are to experience it in union with Jesus Christ. Christ suffered for you, Peter says, leaving you an example to follow. And I think in those words, We see the dual nature of our Lord's sufferings, that they were both redemptive and strengthening. They were redemptive and strengthening. The scriptures say here, He suffered for you. He suffered for you. And how we need to remember that when we're seeking to bear our own cross. One of the most discouraging sins the sensitive Christian commits is failing God when being called upon by God. In other words, I know I'm to bear my cross. I know that this has come to me by God's hand. But then I do it poorly. I lash out in anger. Or I grow weary, begin to doubt God. Or I try to find worldly ways to escape this cross. such as compromising or using some crutch of pleasure or complaining. Like lancing a boil, the cross placed upon us often draws out the worst aspects of our personalities and the weakness of our faith. And we can see the ugliness inside of us. As we really begin struggling, not so much with the affliction anymore, but what the affliction is showing about our own souls before God. That's why we need Jesus. Verse 24, by his wounds, you were healed. and in the midst of our own suffering and our failings and our struggles in it. Things are festering out and being revealed to us. We can even bring those to Christ and ask for more grace, deeper grace, greater grace. You need the cross of Jesus Christ to bear your own cross. That's the redemptive side of it. But it is also to be an example to us what Jesus did. He left us an example to follow and he can strengthen us in our union with him. That's what Paul said that he learned in Philippians chapter three, verse 10. He says, I count all things to be rubbish in this world, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death. We can have fellowship with Christ even as we suffer before Him. Paul, over in the book of Colossians chapter one, verse 24, says, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. And we know when Paul's saying that, he's not saying that anything is lacking in the suffering that Jesus did on our behalf. but rather that Christ is working out the fullness of what he did in his redemptive work and having his body suffer in this world on his behalf and him strengthening us and ministering to us in the midst of all of that. His kingdom so often advances through sorrow and sacrifice and suffering. and how he cares for us in the midst of it. In his book, Future Grace, John Piper points out that as Jesus Christ was going to the cross, the scriptures tell us that his heart was troubled. You can read this in John 12, verse 27, or John 13, verse 21. When Jesus was going to the cross, his own heart was troubled. And yet, as he's going to the cross, what does he say to his disciples? John 14 one. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me or later on in that same chapter, verse 27. Peace I leave with you. Let not your hearts be troubled. I say, wait, what's going on here? He's asking me to do something that even he wasn't doing. His heart was troubled and he's asking me to not let my heart be troubled in the midst of these sorrows. Oh no. He's telling us to not let our hearts be troubled by taking our troubles to him. And He will provide for us in the midst of those sorrows and those tears and those troubles that we bring to Him. And in the midst of those troubles, we see His loving face, His caring hand, His tremendous power at work, perfecting His ways in us, even when we are brought low. Second Corinthians one five for just as the suffering of Christ are ours in abundance. So also our comfort is abundant through Christ. We carry about, as it goes on to say in that book, the dying of Jesus in our bodies. So the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. There is a union with Christ that the afflicted know, that buoys them. It's so mysterious, but it buoys them as it deepens in their suffering. So often we, don't we, we see more of Christ's presence and sense more of his presence in our sufferings Times when everything just seems so comfortable and easy all around us. It's like what Lewis said, he whispers to us in our joys, he shouts to us in our sorrow. Brothers and sisters, these things do not come to us just automatically. We have to work to practice them. So I wanna bring us now to some more application as we think of steps of submission that we should take. Steps of submission. Verse 21, the last three words says, he's given us an example to follow in his steps, in his steps. So we reflect back over this. Let me offer five steps of application that we can make in order to bear this cross. First of all, really, by way of review, receive your cross as an assignment from God. It is your calling. Again, it's part of our conscience toward God. As for a sake of conscience toward God, we are to bear sorrow for him. Someone is called to do a job. They're hired to do work. When they fail to do the job, they're gonna get fired. They're gonna be seen unworthy of that employment, but not us. We are to show forth, prove to this world that the calling of Christ on our life is true and real by living faithfully to this calling as a Christian, no matter where it might take me. For how do we know that Jesus is the Christ, the one that did come from the Father? We know that because he followed the will of the Father. He walked the path the Father assigned him to take. And he did it in a way pleasing to the Father. And so he calls us. to receive our assignment from God as well. Secondly, another step that we ought to take is that we need to bear, you need to bear your cross in determination without complaint, without complaint. Verse 22 is a quote from the chapter in Isaiah that Dr. Speer read to us this morning, Isaiah 53. Again, verse seven says, he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter, like a sheep that is silent before it shears. So he did not open his mouth. He was committed to the will of the Father. He had a duty bound obedience to die for us. And in his majesty and strength, Christ endured that in a quiet spirit in the midst of his trial. Complaining comes so easily to us, doesn't it? We're going to be talking about this later on in the series, about how to bring our cries to the Lord. But for now, let us think about how we can represent Christ faithfully by sometimes suffering, not complaining about it, but honoring God. and spirits of others when they are around us and seeing us suffering through difficulty. Thirdly, use the cross to grow in sanctification. Use the cross to grow in sanctification. As it says in verse 24, we're to live to righteousness, dying to sin and living to righteousness as Christ wounds heal us. We never outgrow the gospel. We have to go to it again and again. to be saved from our sin, to be justified from our sin, but we also need the gospel for our sanctification. Jerry Bridges says we are united to Christ in two ways, legally and vitally. Legally and vitally. We are entitled to all Christ did for us, to objectively justify us, so that we are standing forgiven before God, but we are also entitled to all his work in us subjectively to sanctify us. One of the wondrous things that he's doing, the Father is, by putting us under the cross, is conforming us more and more to the image of the one that we follow. And so we see the cross and we can receive it in that spirit, knowing that God is sanctifying us through these hardships. Fourthly, be driven by it into soul union with Christ. Peter describes this well in verse 25. He says, you were continually straying like sheep. And that's us. We're always veering off that path of righteousness that God has for us. But oftentimes, the Lord uses discipline and hardships in our lives to make sure that we're walking in the center of that path to shape us and to provide union with us. During the summers, our family enjoys spending some time on the shores of Lake Michigan and Western Michigan. One of the things we like to do is to simply walk along the beach and pick up pieces of driftwood or the stones that are lying there in the sand. As you pick those up and you see the water and the sand from all their time out there has shaped them and smoothed them. and beautified them. In the same way as we journey through this world of erring and getting beaten up a little bit, it does have its shaping impact upon us as Christ uses it. There's times where we drift, where Christ can seem more distant, but then he uses some of the waves of this world to push us back on shore and beautify us. to make us treasures in His eyes. So as we think about this cross, and the crosses that we are called to bear, we need to realize that God is driving us, driving us back to the bosom of our Savior, and be glad to be found there. And then finally, one of the things that we have to remember about all of this, is that we must remember that our cross will be removed one day. It will be removed one day. We're gonna look at Hebrews 12 next time. It talks about how Christ endured the cross because of the joy that was set before him. And we need to realize These pains and afflictions are momentary in nature. They will be removed one day from us. They're not permanent. They're not permanent. Only temporary. As long as they may seem here in this world, He will take them away. On that great day, if not before, at least on that great day, of glorification. When God issues a call to us, it is always a holy call. When the summon comes, we can respond in many ways. We can become angry, bitter, or terrified. In the words of R.C. Sproul, if we see it as a call from God, and not just a threat from Satan, we are far more prepared to cope with its difficulties. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we do bow our heads and our hearts before you this morning. And we do pray, oh Father, that you would help us as your people to hear this call, to bear this cross, and to find in that, oh God, your working, your power, your glory being manifested. And Father, for this gathering of your precious saints, I pray for whatever particular call that you have put on some of the folks here, that you would minister to them, that you would care for them. God, there may be things in the days ahead that you place upon one of us or many of us. There may be times of suffering that are coming upon us as the church here in this land because of the growing hatred for the gospel. We pray, oh God, that you would help us to be ready and fit for this calling. And Lord, how I pray for these young people here this morning. Sometimes it's difficult for young ears to hear what they are called to suffer. The sake of Christ, we as parents so often want to protect our children from anything like that. And yet I pray, Father, even for these little ones, that you would be prepared