Sermon--Jesus Walks Among the Hurting, Revelation 2:8-11--Smyrna

Last week we looked at the letter written to the city of Ephesus—the opening line lets us know that he holds the seven stars in His right hand and that He “walks among the seven golden lampstands” which are the churches. He walks among His churches. He sees their strengths, He sees their faults, He knows the cure. This week we’re looking at the second letter to the city of Smyrna

Smyrna literally meant ¡§myrrh¡¨ - a fine perfume and this was quite fitting for Smyrna which was a wealthy and beautiful city. It was destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome and was one of the few planned out cities in Asia Minor. It was a modern and architecturally asthetic city. It had an excellent harbour, lavish temples, a famous stadium and one of the largest public theatres in Asia Minor. It still exists as Izmir, Turkey

Though it was a beautiful city, it was also a pagan city with worship of many of the gods of the Roman and Greek pantheon including Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, Dionysius, Mercury. In addition to this, it was a staunch ally of Rome and was one of the first Asian cities to require its citizens to worship the emperor..

Smyrna was also a center of the emperor worship, having won the privilege from the Roman Senate in A.D. 23 (over eleven other cities) of building the first temple in honor of Tiberius. Under Domitian (A.D. 81-96) emperor worship became compulsory for every Roman citizen on threat of death. Once a year a citizen had to burn incense on the altar to the godhead of Caesar, after which he was issued a certificate.

Such an act was probably considered more as an expression of political loyalty than religious worship, and all a citizen had to do was burn a pinch of incense and say, "Caesar is Lord [kyrios]." To refuse this led to persecution or even death

Yet most Christians refused to do this

READ 2:8-11

1. Jesus Walks Among the Churches With Authority

a. If you were to walk into a day-care and see all the toilet paper strewn across the room, all the kids running wild, paint on the floor, on the wall, in their hair, toys that were never intended to travel through the air imbedded in the ceiling tiles—our first thought is to cry out—“Who’s in charge here???”

b. When we see chaos, when we see disorder, when we see pain, suffering, hardship, calamity in the world around us… most of us on some level are going to ask a similar question—“who’s in charge here? Whoever it is, is not doing their job very well. Where are you God and why aren’t you doing anything about this? How could you let this happen?” It’s hard not to watch TV and not wonder—what’s going on? We ask these mostly out of emotion, mostly because our innate sense of right and wrong is being violated. One of the classic attacks on Christianity is based on the problem of evil, of pain, or hardship and suffering. And the fundamental feeling associated in asking the question is the sense that the world is out of control.

c. You and I walk around, and it doesn’t take us long to figure out that the world does not revolve around me or you. The universe does not bow to my whim. I know that I am not in control of the universe. And it doesn’t take me long to figure out that you’re not either. So Who is in Control?

d. To a church that is hurting and underground, a Church that is suffering in the midst of prosperity—Jesus has a message: “I walk among you in Full and Complete Control despite your perceptions to the contrary.”

e. First and Last—much like the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning and the End. ISA 44:6 "This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

f. First—prime, most important. Last—the rearguard, the last one you see. Jesus Starts the Parade & He finishes the Parade.

g. First & Last--the one they belong to is the Lord of history and the Creator. He is in control regardless of appearances of evil—nothing surprises Him, nothing catches Him off guard, nothing is unexpected. He is First, the Almighty Creator of Heavens and the Earth—Jesus is the Last—the Finisher of our Faith. Jesus has Authority

h. Over Suffering and Pain—even the Pain of Death—Jesus experienced Death Firsthand—not because someone told Him about their experience, He didn’t read about death in a book, didn’t study to become an undertaker—He died—

i. death is not an academic issue, nor a philosophic wondering—it is very real in the life of Jesus—He knows just how devastating death can be—he’s lost friends like Lazarus, He probably lost His earthly father, Joseph, as a young boy or teenager—and if that’s not enough, Jesus died and came back to life. He knows what He’s talking about when it comes to the subject of death. But Jesus not wring His handsover pain and suffering, He has Authority over Death, over pain and suffering because He experienced them all

j. Hebrews 2:10 lets us know that the Author of Our Salvation was made perfect by or through what He suffered. To a church that is seeing only chaos and hardship and suffering, this reminder is a welcome event. Jesus walks among us and is still fully and completely in Control—He has not lost His Authority in any way.

2. Jesus Walks Among the Church With Awareness—vs. 9-10

a. I Know—Jesus is fully aware, completely informed—not one moment has escaped His notice. This reminds me of Exodus 3:7-8—“The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians”

b. Aware of Afflictions They Faced Persecution – The word “Tribulation” literally means “pressure.” It is the word that was used in that day to refer to crushing an object under the weight of heavy stones. This church was paying a heavy price for their allegiance to Jesus.

c. Aware of Poverty— They Faced Poverty – The word means “absolute destitution.” They had none of the world’s goods because of their relationship with Jesus. They were denied jobs. Yet every day they had to pass ornate pagan temples, Smyrna was a wealthy city. Imagine How Satan mocked them telling them that if they would renounce Jesus that they could prosper.

d. The Good Life and Wealth are not signs of spiritual blessing or God’s approval—you can be rich in His eyes even when you have nothing.

e. In fact, having wealth often makes us less mindful or less dependent on Him, therefore our spirit wanes. You can have everything and be spiritually poor and starving. But no matter what or how much you have, Paul teaches us to be content in any and all situations.

f. Aware of Slander and its True Source—all the horrible lies about Christians being spread around town, all those accusations of Sedition, Idolatry, Cannibalism—Jesus heard it all, even when they were disguised as prayers and requests to protect His holiness and doctrinal purity. Jesus has the Authority to sift through the Truth from the False. You never have to worry about Jesus believing the statement of those who speak badly of Christ. You never have to accept the pronouncements from those who don’t really belong to Christ giving all the reasons and excuses why God is angry with you, why God is punishing you, why you really do deserve to not have any wealth—those are lies that He does not acknowledge—and if you are suffering or struggling today and enduring hardship—know that Jesus is Aware, know that He knows the Truth and doesn’t believe what we say, but upon His personal knowledge. He will always listen to get your side of the story,

g. It’s because He knows the Voice of Truth, because He knows His sheep and because He knows the Author of Lies. Even when it’s someone who’s supposed to be a brother or sister, someone who should be their allies and friends—I for one am very glad and thankful that Jesus does not judge me based upon what others have or are saying about me. I’m glad He knows me will enough to consider what is true.

h. Jesus also has an Awareness of Future Difficulty—vs. 10—they are about to suffer—there is no promise to remove it, there is no promise to make it go away, there is no promise to keep everything perfect and prevent the pain. But wait, I thought this was Jesus, who was in Control and had Authority?—

i. It is and He is—so this is proof to me that we should never interpret hardship or difficulty as God is not in control He’s already seen it, He knows it’s coming—and He is preparing, He is encouraging you and me to face it.

3. Jesus Walks Among His Church with Encouragement and a Promise--

a. Do not be afraid—He is walking with us—Where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name—He is there with them. So when the Church is persecuted, He is persecuted. Do not be Afraid—I am with you even though you walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death.

b. Jesus is not the EASY BUTTON, or a Lucky Rabbits Foot. He is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” Card—but with Him at our side, we don’t have to be afraid—because He’s been there.

c. He knows what it’s like to suffer, He knows what it’s like to die. He was tempted in every way to curse God, but He did not sin—not even once. We don’t have to be afraid even in the face of suffering and persecution b/c Jesus has already proven by rising from the dead that He is Victorious! Say it with me—He is Victorious..

d. The Victory is the Most Real Thing in the Universe—the Victory of Jesus Christ is Ultimate and Permanent Reality—What we are seeing and feeling and enduring now… It’s Only Temporary—10 days—a defined period of time—it has a beginning and it has an ending and Jesus knows exactly when that is.

e. You may be thrown in prison because of your faith in Christ. In their day, refusing to worship the Emperor, refusing to call the Emperor Lord, refusing to worship the pagan deities was a Crime!

f. Polycarp—bishop of Smyrna was martyred because he refused to call Caesar, Lord in 156 AD. Polycarp was burned alive at the age of eighty-six as the "twelfth martyr in Smyrna" (IDB, 4:393). His words have echoed through the ages: "Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 4.15.25).

g. 1 Peter 4:16-- However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name

h. The devil wants to see if your faith is real, he wants to see if your faith is genuine—he doesn’t believe that it is. He cannot understand how you and I can hold so tightly to faith in a world that is chaotic. Satan doubts your faith—so he wants to test it—your suffering may Only be a Test—but where Satan doubts whether your faith is Real, Jesus has no doubts. Jesus wants to see us Pass the test and flourish .

i. He encourages us to be faithful--Be Faithful with your whole life—even to the point of death—because for you to die following the One who has conquered death, is not defeat or a sign of God’s judgment—it is a sign of His Promise. I love the line used in Braveheart—“they may take our lives, but they will never take Our Freedom!” There is no truth to that statement apart from Christ—it is only true in the Kingdom of God, it is only true—not in the name of Scotland, not in the name of England, not in the name of the USA—it is only true in the name of the One who Died and came to life again—only true in the Person of Jesus Christ.

j. He was faithful to the point of death—He didn’t say “do as I say, not as I do”—Jesus was faithful to the plan and purpose of the Father, to the point of death—and b/c of that, He was Victorious. Be Faithful to the point of death b/c He was faithful to the point of death.

k. Jesus walks among us also with Awareness of Future Reward--Jesus will give you the Crown of Life—crown of Victory, the same victory over death that He experiences, the same resurrection life that He experiences, the same closeness to God He experiences—we will have the crown of Victory because He was willing to wear the Crown of Thorns!

l. Jesus walks among us and knows that Justice has not been forgotten

m. Jesus walks among us and knows that Our Life will be better, will be rewarded

n. At this point we have not suffered to the point of death or the spilling of our blood. It’s been generations since we have seen this type of persecution in America—but I hope you realize that we are the exception—even in today’s world. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering around the world today in much the same fashion as those in Smyrna—and let me point out something if you haven’t noticed it already—There is no Condemnation for this church—there is no rebuke—there is no “I hold this against you” like last week to the Church at Ephesus that had more prosperity, that had more deeds. They had forgotten their first love in the midst of doing a lot of good things. These at Smyrna had their love for Christ and nothing else. Nothing else would have brought them through, nothing else but love would have kept them faithful.

National Day of Prayer--Crying out to God

Today is the National Day of Prayer. I will be participating in events at the courthouse today at 12 PM. I hope that our hearts will truly be turned to God for a nation that truly needs His intervention on many levels. Is the turnout today in any way reflective of our spiritual hunger and urgency? It may be.

Why aren’t we crying out to God more?

Why is it that we only seem to cry out to the LORD in times of trouble? Why are we so hard hearted that we are unwilling to Call on His Name without some kind of kick in the pants? Here's a case in point.

Exodus 3:7-8a--"The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--"

There is great news in the passage--

• God Sees
• God Hears our Cries
• God is Concerned
• God Will Come Down to Rescue
• God Will Bring Us Up & Out

But don't you think that God would be willing to see our situations, hear our cries, be concerned for our lives, come down to us, and bring us to a better place without all of the calamity and suffering?

I think He would much rather have us do all that without the struggle and suffering involved. In many ways, He waits for us to cry out to Him. In the good times, we don't, myself especially included. When we're comfortable, we don't pray with as much energy, as much passion, as much desperation, as much time, as much heart-felt conviction and dependence. He longs to gather us in under His wings, but we are not willing unless there is a hawk flying over, about to strike.

It's like he's waiting for the phone to ring, but we treat His number more like 911. No one calls 911 unless there’s an emergency. I hope and pray we will have the desire, the hunger, the urgency to call upon Him—for His sake—because He alone is worth it—and not because we must be prodded into the action.

What kind of prods has God used in your life? What kinds of prods has He used in getting America to cry out to Him?

Pursuing Answers to Questions of Faith & Life,

Kelly

Sermon 4-29-07--Faith's Call to Endure Persecution for the Right Reasons

Being a Christian in American History usually meant--(until recently)

· Fine upstanding citizen

· Difficult get elected without claiming faith in God

· Good morals

· Strong family values

· Respectable

· Mainstream or Normative faith

· Good relationship with God—God pleased with

· Government gives tax exempt status and sees the benefit of churches on community

It wasn’t always this way…

Being a Christian in Early Church History

Abnormal faith

· Bad citizen to the Empire—
refusing to sacrifice to the Emperor

· Bad morals—
potential cannibals (misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper)

· Against the family—
as wives became believers without husband’s “approval”
as outcast from family for choosing Christ over them

· Bad relationship with the gods—
refusing to worship them, only one God—danger of angering them and bringing their wrath down on everyone else.

· Not respected—
many came from the lower classes, the slaves, the military

· Government mistrusted and arrested and accused believers --
put in jail, tortured, beaten, open persecution, fire of Rome, Coliseum,

It was much more embarrassing to be a Christian in those days. So much so that Peter felt the need to address it.

1 Peter 4:12-19

No Surprise at Trials—12

1 Peter 1—Peter is writing to those who have been scattered—

· scattered either in the vents surrounding the day of Pentecost, or

· Acts 8—where many were driven out of Jerusalem by persecution initially led by Paul or

· believed to be scattered by official condemnation by Roman government. All Christians and Jews were forced to leave Rome under Caligula in —later Nero blamed for setting fire to Rome.

Many believers, including the leadership were accustomed to trials and persecutions. They knew what if felt like to uproot their family and flee—they knew what it felt like to bear the stigma of fighting the law and the law losing. “I Fought the Law and the Law Won” could have been an early church song.

No Surprise—

Jesus Himself said—John 16:33--“In this world you will have trouble.”

You Were Chosen by God—1 Peter 2:9

Rejected by Men—2:4

Jesus was rejected--4:13--—so will you be --John 15:18-- "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

Rejoice that you are being persecuted and suffering for the same reasons that Jesus suffered. Your service, your love for one another, whatever gift you have been given—as we talked about last week—when done and lived with authenticity, you will bring difficulty and hardship down..

Christ received greater glory through Suffering—Hebrews 2:10—“In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, would make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

The captain of our salvation

Resurrection greater than any miracle

Qualified Him to enter the Most Holy Place

Blessing for Suffering as He suffered—vs. 14

It may feel like you should be ashamed, it may feel like you are being punished but the reverse is actually true—you are blessed—it is not darkness but light you are feeling—Instead the Spirit of Glory rests on you.

Can you imagine that? The amazing, blazing, awe-inspiring Glory of God is a part of your suffering when you do on behalf of or in response to your faith in Christ. Even when you are merely insulted

Why Trials & Persecutions & Insults—

The world does not understand our faith

The World is Given Over according to Romans 1 and they live in spiritual darkness

Their Minds are Blinded

They Don’t Like being Reminded

Satan is our enemy

Glory can come from Suffering and Persecution. But Peter gives a word of warning

No Glory for Just Suffering—vs. 15—

Trials and persecution can come to our lives because we no longer belong to this world, because of who we are as believers. But that fact is not the only way trials and suffering can come.

It is possible to suffer trials and persecution with reason. Peter had already introduced the concept in ch. 2:20—“how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?” For that culture, a beating was justice being served for disobedience.

We should not suffer justly because that will be further justification for persecution and because it’s not just our name we are tearing down, it is the name of Christ. We carry & Embody His name with us wherever we go.

Peter mentions Murder, Stealing, any other type of Criminal. The first three mentioned are somewhat obvious—deliberate, premeditated breaking of the law—bringing the standards and punishment arm of the society down upon you.

But then Peter also lists that we should not endure suffering as a Meddler—What is a Meddler? Someone who sticks their nose into other people’s business, who tries to twist or manipulate things for their benefit.

Why would Peter mention meddling?

I’ve always thought it strange. Is Meddling illegal? NO, so again, why mention it?

I believe he’s talking about more than just Meddling – I believe he’s referring to those things that may not be against the law, but they’re still wrong for you or other Christians to be known for. There are many things that are not illegal, but can seriously malign the name of Christ and look very bad in society’s eyes. Things do not have to be illegal to be wrong. No one else may get hurt, but it can still be wrong. Even if no one gets hurt, even if you don’t get caught.

For example, Is internet pornography illegal—sadly no—but it is still wrong for you. Is gambling or the lottery illegal—sadly no—but you should not be identified with them.

What if Drugs, Prostitution or Polygamy become legalized—does that mean it’s then OK for you to go out and do them too?

NO.

This verse does not mean that if you have done something wrong, against the law or been in jail or anything else then you are now worthless in the Kingdom of God. God is about Forgiveness, He is about Restoration, He is about Hope—He takes the broken things, the discarded things, the useless things, the unwanted & rejected things and He uses them for His glory.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11—“ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

They were those things but are them no longer. As a believer, you are not living just for yourself any more. Suffering becomes blessing only through faithfulness—only if it comes as a result of Standing for Christ.

If you are unfaithful, you will not receive the great blessing that awaits you

READ vs. 16—

There is no shame in suffering for the right reasons.

If or when you suffer for being a Christian, there is great blessing—many of Peter’s readers had been accused, scattered—forced to leave or move somewhere else, arrested, beaten because they claimed the name of Christ. Peter himself was one of those.

There are things that Society may one day deem illegal and immoral. In some countries, it is illegal to own a copy of the Bible. In some countries it is illegal for Christians to be meeting like we are meeting. In some countries it is illegal to evangelize and tell people about Christ. In some countries it is illegal to convert from one faith to another. In some countries it is illegal to identify another religion as false or call certain behaviors sin.

And if our own society one day deems that those behaviors are illegal—know that you have the opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ—know that the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

1^st Amendment Freedom of Association—Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If you've ever wondered why all of these subjects were listed together under the first amendment, it's because each them have to do with Establishment and Free Exercise. Ever thing listed after the ; are examples of how governments tried to limit religious expressions.

Speech (preaching) unapproved doctrines,

Press--distributing leaflets and flyers or tracts explaining beliefs or promoting a meeting,

peaceably assemble--like a church gathering without state sanction

Petition--something many believers and congregations were denied

How comfortable would you be going to a church where you know the pastor, assoc. pastor & several other leaders have all served time in jail? Would you hesitate?

That could have described the Church at Jerusalem with Peter and the other apostles—or the church at Ephesus while Paul was there.

Be Strong in the Lord and be willing to endure the accusations. Be willing to associate with those who endure such accusations as Paul mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:8—“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel”

Praise God that you bear that name.

Vs. 17

But Peter is telling them that the only One who’s opinion of you that matters is God’s—not your family’s, not society’s, not pop culture, not friends. Only God’s opinion truly matters. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but if you are torn between the two, realize there’s no real contest.

Sermon 3-25-07--The Willingness of the Sacrifice--Lent Service

This message was given at the Macomb Assembly of God during the Lenten Community Services. I thank everyone at Macomb Assembly for the opportunity to come in and share with them as well as those from UBC who supported me there.

The Willingness of the Sacrifice

We all know the phrase—“God loves a cheerful giver.” It has to do with the heart, it has to do with the willingness of the giver to give.

When there is no love, giving leads to bitterness. Example:

A Tampa chiropractor had paid alimony to his former wife for a long time. In 1994 he came to his final alimony payment of $182. He didn’t just want to send his money; he wanted to send a message. So in large scale he drew a check on the back of a pinstripe shirt. On the memo line of his shirt-check, he wrote, “Here it is—the shirt off my back!” The bank cashed it.

Givers can be divided into three types:

the flint-- to get anything out of it, you must hammer it, and even then you only get chips and sparks

the sponge-- to get anything out of a sponge you must squeeze it and squeeze it hard, because the more you squeeze a sponge, the more you get

the honeycomb--. They are the ones who just overflows with their own sweetness and eagerness.

The Bible contrasts the offerings of a poor widow to those who had an abundance. The amount that the widow gave wasn’t as important as the heart behind her giving.

In taking a collection for the churches in Jerusalem, Paul wrote to the Corinthians--2 Cor. 8:12—“ For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”

Have you ever wondered what type of Giver is Jesus? Is He someone you have to hang-up by His ankles to shake the coins out of His pockets?

Is Jesus someone who’s arm you have to twist? Or does He willingly give His all? Does He hold anything back from you and me?

Of course not. When the soldiers were gambling for the shirt off His back—He was saying—“Father forgive them”. He had every justification to blame, to resent what they had done while He was innocent. And that is one of the beautiful pictures of Christ’s love and sacrifice for us.

It wouldn’t have been hard for Jesus to turn aside—to do anything else—all He had to do was leave Jerusalem. One sin would have mad Him unfit to be the Messiah, one moment of wanting to put His will above the Father’s will, and it would have been over.

An important step to the Resurrection is the Willingness of the Sacrifice.

The Willingness of the Sacrifice can be seen in…

Jesus’ Baptism

In Matthew 3:13—Jesus came to John the Baptist in order to be baptized, not for sins, but to fulfill all righteousness and to identify to John and the world who He really was. Some time after baptizing Jesus, John sees Jesus again in John 1:29 and declares—“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus was and is the Lamb of God—the Perfect sacrifice and Passover lamb that covers our sins, and turns away God’s judgment. His Baptism was a Pledge of Commitment, a demonstration of His willingness to fulfill the Father’s plan—to give His life as a ransom for many.

Jesus was fully aware of where the Father’s will would take Him, He knew what was coming. The plan for our salvation was set in eternity—the date of the Crucifixion was circled on God’s calendar. He knew where He was going and what would happen and yet He was still willing to go to the Cross.

Our Sacrifice didn’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the Cross. He was not forced; He was willing and embraced His cross.

John 10:14, 15, 17-18—“14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.
17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

Jesus is the One with the authority to lay down His life and no one takes it from Him. The High Priest did not have authority over Jesus, Pilate did not have authority over Jesus except what was given to them from above. Giving His life is a demonstration of His love.

His life was not given for show,

Or a dose of guilt

or out of an overdeveloped Duty

or out of Demand—we could never make God do anything, and at the same time I don’t think we were we particularly asking.

The gift of Jesus is willing and based on His love for you and me. It was all His idea from the beginning

John 15:13—“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

The Sacrificial Lamb was willing to give His life for those He loved and cared for. And Jesus loves and cares for some strange people—myself included. But that also includes people that you or I might not think twice of, people we may think are too far beyond God’s ability to reach or forgive.

Romans 5:7-8—“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus knew His destination and He went anyway so that we could live. And every step of the way was full of temptation. Every step was an opportunity

After Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness, Satan “left him until the next opportunity came” --NLT. Every step was a part of the next opportunity. In fact, according to Hebrews 4:15—Jesus “is able to sympathize with our weaknesses [b/c He] was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.” Jesus was tempted to leave the purpose of God, He was tempted to take shortcuts, try and be the Messiah without the suffering and not be our Willing Sacrifice—yet He resisted those options and remained committed to the Pledge He had made to the Father. He faithfully gave His life for us in the most gruesome way possible.

In fact, something about that suffering was necessary. By suffering as we often suffer, Jesus was made an even better Savior. Hebrews 2:10 tells us that “it was fitting that God… should make the author of [our] salvation perfect through suffering.”

It was because of His temptation, because of His suffering on the Cross, that He was exactly the sacrifice we needed.

His willingness to endure through all of that made Him the “Author of our Faith” or the “Captain” or “Pioneer” or “Trailblazer” of our faith, the Living Bible calls Him the “Perfect Leader”.

No other point in His life shows this willingness better than the Garden of Gethsemane. While he went over to pray, the disciples were sleeping. It was just Him and God (This was probably another one of those opportune times), and so He asks, like any one of us would ask, “If there is any other way, a way that won’t involve my suffering and death, I’m willing to do it. But don’t change Your plan on My account—they need salvation too much.”

This was a battle for Jesus—to be obedient unto death or to find some other way. It was such a battle that Luke tells us Jesus received strengthening from an angel, but even with that, knowing what was coming, He was so anguished that He sweat drops of blood.

His willingness to endure the suffering demonstrated just “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” —His willingness to endure this pain, to endure this humiliation on our behalf, to take the punishment for sin that we deserved, showed His love.

1 John 4:9-10—“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Do you realize that He was willing to endure such pain and suffering all for the hope that you will spend eternity with Him? He did it for you, He did it for me. No one had to twist His arm, no one had to bribe Him.

Our Sacrifice willingly crawled onto the altar and into the fire to atone for our sins. He made the choice to save your and my life.

He was willing to die for you. Are you willing to live for Him?

Sermon-1/14/07--Rejoicing in the Shield of God-- 1 Peter 1:6-12

In October 1993, police sharpshooters in Rochester, NY, surrounded a car. In the back seat of the car was a man with a rifle. The police attempted to negotiate with the man… no answer. The police watched and waited… no movement. Finally the police discovered the truth: the armed man in the back seat was a mannequin.

When the authorities tracked down the owner of the car, he told them he keeps the mannequin in his car for protection. “You’ve got to do this,” he said. “With the car-jackings, it helps if it looks like you’ve got a passenger.”

These are dangerous times and we all have a desire for protection. The question is whom do you rely on for protection?

Remember last week we began examining what it is that Angels are amazed at in 1 Peter 1. Peter begins by listing reasons what angels long to look into and why our Praise should change, for His Mercy, for our New Birth, for our Living Hope, for His Inheritance, and for His Protection. We’re looking closer at God’s protection this week and why we should Rejoice in the Shield of God—because of His Refuge.

Shielded by God—1:5

Through Faith

By God’s Power

Until Christ’s Return

We are Shielded from the Controlling Nature of Sin, We are Shielded from the eternal effect of sin—broken relationship with God—we are shielded from the control and manipulation of the demonic—we are shielded from the full force of temptation because God has promised to provide a way out--even though we don’t always take advantage of it.

We are Not Shielded from all Suffering, from Pain or Difficulty. We are not shielded from all problems, emotions or decisions. We are not completely shielded from the effects of sin in our own lives or in the lives of others.

Yet we are still given Refuge and a place of safety, and we can still rejoice even in the midst of trials.

Rejoicing in the Shield of God—1:6-9

Rejoice for God’s Protection Until the Reality of His Coming.—

God is working to provide us refuge, to protect us now, today. And He will continue to work and protect and guide from this moment until Christ’s Return. Until we hear the trumpet sound, until we meet Him in the air—God will be our Refuge and our strong tower. Despite the long wait our faith has experienced over the years looking forward to His return, despite those that ridicule our belief in the promise of Christ, the reality that we hold on to with Hope—not wishful thinking, but Hope, is that He is returning. And we can and must rejoice in that fact.

Peter wants us to keep everything in the proper perspective. Our hope in Christ’s return changes everything.

No matter what is going on around you today, your Perspective must remain focused on The Reality of Christ’s Return. The reality of the Second Coming should change the way you look at and handle trials. Knowing Christ is returning to establish His kingdom, right all wrongs, and Elevate His people helps us to rejoice for God’s Refuge even during trials—because we know this world and our life in it will not always be this way. There is more than just a light at the end of the tunnel. He is the light! With that in mind you are more able to

Rejoice Even during Trials—Again, becoming a Follower & Disciple of Christ doesn’t mean that life is going to be nothing but roses from here on out. It doesn’t mean you won’t struggle, that you won’t experience loss or pain. We will experience those things just like everyone else because this world is fallen, it is marred by sin.

This world is no longer the perfect garden He made for us. So we will have struggles just like everybody else because we still live here.

In some ways, being a Xn may make you a bigger target in this world. The Scriptures call Satan the “Prince of This World”, and let me assure you that he will try harder to take you down once you have crossed enemy lines.

The unbelieving world—which hated and rejected Jesus, will at times treat believers with the same sentiment.

It is happening all over the world—hundreds of Chinese Xn’s are being arrested for attending church or training seminars . School kids in America are frequently required to redo assignments because of their “religious nature”. Churches are denied access to building permits in some communities in America because of their tax status.

Believers endure hardships and trials in this world just like everybody else, and on top of them, we sometimes suffer for our faith.

But remember the perspective that Peter is trying to give you—you Can rejoice even in the trials, rejoice during them, even overcoming them because as a Kingdom Believer, with you’re your mind and perspective focused on the Second Coming, compared to eternity you know they last only for “a little while” v. 6—which means the length of our trials here on earth do not compare to our time in eternity.

So we can rejoice in the relative short duration of our trials—admittedly, this is difficult—things seem long because of our limited frame of reference.

But if you and I will fully grasp the full meaning of the Kingdom of God, and will embrace the reality of it and live such, then we will even think in terms of eternity and not just the here and now.

But we can also rejoice that our sufferings and trials are not without purpose—they are not just random events with no meaning, no purpose or no benefit.

God’s Protection protects us from so many threats that we are unaware of, but when something happens, when some trial is allowed and comes our way it always has the same goal—the strengthening and growth of our faith. In this truth, I’m sure the angels marvel at how God can make something good of our trials here.

The Goal of Our Trials—READ v. 7—

Trials have the ability to bring us closer to God or drive us further away from Him. What do you believe is God’s desire?
God’s desire is that we always be brought closer. As we’ve been seeing on Wednesday nights, even God’s anger desires to draw us closer rather than push us away.

God’s desire is that our momentary trials be understood in light of our greater eternity—these trials Refine our Faith and make our eternity even better.

Even though it may be painful, these things help us in some way, they prepare us for something, they refine us. With our limited perspective, we probably won’t ever fully understand how God will use our trials this side of His coming.

Alan Mairson wrote an article for National Geographic about beekeepers who raise and transport bees for a living. He told the story of Jeff and Christine Anderson and how their daughter overcome an allergy to bee stings.
To build up her immunity, doctors administered a series of injections to Rachel over a four-month period. But, in order to maintain immunity, she needed a shot or a bee sting every 6 weeks .
So every 6 weeks Rachel’s parents would go outside and catch a bee. Then, as Rachel recalls, “Mom would take hold of my arm and roll my sleeve up. Then my Dad would make the bee mad and stick it on me and count to ten before he took the stinger out. But it worked.

”Now when I accidentally get stung, it barely swells, it barely hurts.”
Imagine how hard it must have been for those parents to know this was the only way to help their daughter live. In a world full of bees, a loving father must not shield his child from every sting. In fact, for the child’s own good the father must at times induce pain.

Your Faith, your Eternity is more important to God than your happiness, it’s more important than your comfort—your faith is “of greater worth than gold”. So He is willing to do anything to make your faith better, more pure, more beautiful, more glorifying to Him.

You’ve probably seen pictures of gold nuggets, but have you ever seen gold ore? It’s not very pretty, in fact, it really doesn’t look anything like gold at all. Not until you begin heating the ore does the gold begin to separate from the other minerals and elements. Only after careful, deliberate and intense heat can something beautiful be made. God is refining you today so you will be beautiful in eternity.

Do you value your faith as much as God does? If your faith is this valuable to God, shouldn’t it be valuable to you as well? In fact, your faith should be of greater value to you than any earthly treasure—even gold itself. Even the purest, most beautiful gold will not last in eternity. Your faith must be similarly refined so it can be PROVEN GENUINE. In other words, if your faith is real—then nothing will come between you and God. No person, no hurt, no failure, no threat will be able to pull you away from your faith in God.

God wants to see your faith Proven Genuine! A genuine faith brings greater glory to Him!

Everything that happens in our lives must be understood in light of what will bring glory to God. Everything in your life is preparing you for service and glory today.

When your faith is proven genuine and made pure it results in Praise, Glory and Honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

A Genuine Faith is one that Walks by Faith, not by sight.

Unseen Faith at Work-- READ v. 8.

Sadly instead of living by faith and not by sight—you and I live most days by sight and not by faith. It comes more naturally to us. But we have so much more available to us.

These believers were either 2^nd Gen. Xns or not in Israel during the life of Jesus—so they had never seen Him physically. But that did not keep them from loving Jesus with all their hearts. This describes you and me today—we have not seen Him, but we love Him and I hope you realize that He is the source of joy.

Many times during our trials our hearts sympathize with what Peter says—“though you do not see Him now”. In the midst of our struggles it seems like we cannot see His face, feel His Presence or hear His voice. But we still believe He is there walking us through the valley of the shadow of death. We still know that the unseen hand of Jesus is at work all around us.

Last week I reminded all of you of the fact that we will not be aware of the majority of instances when the Shield, Protection and Refuge of God is working. Even during trials and struggles His hand is still working.

The Hand of Jesus is working even when we cannot see Him. And True Faith will still believe in Him no matter what and in the midst of the trials God can and does fill you “with an inexpressible and glorious joy”.

It is based on the Hope in the Future and a Certainty of Christ’s Return which changes how we look at, how we respond to and how we handle everything that Life throws our way.

God’s desire is to refine us and prove us genuine. He wants to see you and me succeeding and growing in our faith because He does value us more than any treasure. We are God’s Pearl of Great Price—buried in a field that He was willing to sell everything and purchase.

We can Rejoice in God’s Shielding because when our faith has been proven genuine and when Praise, Glory and Honor Results in our lives at the coming of Christ we begin to understand that we are receiving the Goal of our Faith—vs. 9--the salvation of our souls. Our eternity is secured.

It may not make sense to us, but it is ours. We may not understand everything, but God is more interested in our Faith than our understanding.

The angels enjoy the benefit of seeing the spiritual world. They know by sight that it is real—whereas we live by faith

And I believe they marvel at how God relates to us and how we still desire, trust and have faith in Him. I believe they lean in when they see us filled with joy even during trials—especially those that come because of our faith when it would be so easy to avoid by denying Christ. I believe they are amazed at how God is refining you and me into something even better.