Does A Christian Have To Suffer

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another word-filled message by David Entry. Preaching is the means by which God manifests His word and nourishes our spirits. May the life of God enter into you and you as you listen to this message.

[0:14] Be blessed. Hallelujah. Well, 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 4. Reading from verse 12 all the way through verse 19.

[0:27] Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

[0:48] If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

[1:03] But let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoeror, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

[1:15] Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf.

[1:27] For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of our God?

[1:42] And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator in Jesus' name.

[2:05] Here ends the reading of His holy word. Hallelujah. Well, very interesting text. In that previous session I spoke about how we should handle suffering as Christians.

[2:18] And I actually spoke about what we should do about suffering. And all is within this text. And you can tell that it says, number one, I spoke about how we should expect suffering.

[2:31] So suffering shouldn't be a surprise. Don't be scared by suffering. All right. Naturally, human beings or living creatures move away from suffering.

[2:44] And suffering has never and will never be a welcoming thing for any living thing. For that matter, human beings always try to put systems in place to avoid suffering, and which is rightly so.

[2:59] But there are certain sufferings that are necessary, that are unavoidable. So it says, don't let suffering for the name of Christ be very strange to you.

[3:13] Don't be surprised to be suffering. Like you go to bed, you wake up in the morning, you are surprised, you are awake. No, it's part of life. Okay. So part of working with Christ warrants that suffering will come up, as I explained.

[3:29] Why that? Because, one, we live in a fallen world. So because we live in a fallen world, the fallen world is prone to suffering and all kinds of issues.

[3:41] All right. Number two, because we do not belong to this world. And this world, the whole world, 1 John 5, 9, 18, and particularly 19, lies under the sway of the evil one.

[3:57] The whole world lies under the sway. So according to John 15, 19, if you were of the world, the world will have its own. But yet, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you after the world, therefore, the world hates you.

[4:14] And so, because we live in a fallen world, and the peoples of the world are under the sway of the evil one, when you don't belong to the world and belong to Christ, you are in direct opposition to the one who controls and governs the affairs of the world, who is Satan, the God of this world, the Bible calls him, in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, the God of this world.

[4:39] Jesus talks about him in this light, that the God of John, chapter 14, verse 30, the God of this world comes. Satan comes and he has nothing in me.

[4:50] All right. The prince of this world. Jesus calls him the prince of this world. And so, children of disobedience are under the control, according to Think Efficient, chapter 2, somewhere there.

[5:03] The children of disobedience are under the government or the control and the rule of the evil one. And so, Satan is the principality and the prince of this world.

[5:17] And so then, once we don't belong, we belong to Jesus, we are his number one enemies as Christians. We are, and then, because of that, he will be able to, he usually influences systems, influences government.

[5:34] When you look across generations, the major persecution against Christians are not necessarily meted out by individuals. It happens, but really, major persecutions are meted out by government, people who are in authority, from the very, the onset of the birth of the church, or from the birth of the church.

[5:55] They suffered in the hands of the authorities. They suffered in their hands. They killed Stephen. He stood before the Sahindrin, and he spoke for himself. And he said, brethren, man, and listen to me.

[6:08] When he finished, they stoned him. It was the authorities. The authorities beat the disciples, the apostles. In Acts chapter 5, verse 39, 40, they equipped them not to preach in the name of God.

[6:20] They warned them, as for 18, 19, we have warned you not to preach in this name again. So, they came under persecution by authorities. Then he moved from the Jewish authorities and to the power of those times, which is the Roman authority.

[6:36] So, Paul was a prisoner, not a prisoner of the Jews, but he was a prisoner of Rome. He was being sent to Rome when they had the shipwrecked. He died in Rome. It was down the Roman authorities in biblical history that persecuted the early church and the Jews as well.

[6:54] Wherever the gospel was preached, the Jews. It always faced attack, always faced opposition. One particular incident was when they went to Philippi. Paul had a vision, a man of Macedonia, come and help us in Macedonia.

[7:08] Acts chapter 16, verse 9 and 30. So, they concluded that the Holy Ghost is sending them to Macedonia. When they went, they were going for prayer every now and then. And this girl, filled by the devil, verse 16, was prophesying and speaking that these are the men of God.

[7:23] And Paul was versed in his spirit. He did this for a long time. And Paul was actually annoyed. Paul was actually annoyed, very greatly annoyed. And he commanded that devil to come out of that little girl.

[7:35] And as soon as the devil came out, the masters who put on the girl and were using her for financial gain realized that what the girl was using to bring the gain to them, that demon had been cast out.

[7:50] And so, guess what? They were detained on them and reported them to the magistrates. Can you imagine? Magistrates. And there were prominent authorities. And they were arrested and beaten.

[8:02] Beaten and thrown into prison. And charged the prison warden to keep them safely. Keep them. Because these guys are dangerous. It says that they have come.

[8:12] These Jews have come. And they are causing confusion amongst us. It wasn't so. They were not just Jews. They were also Romans. Right. So, the church has always faced persecution by authorities.

[8:25] And in our day, it is usually Satan uses governments to pass laws against the work of God. In the UK and in the West, it's because of the freedom of speech and because of the foundation of Christianity that gave rise to these Western developments.

[8:44] It gave so much liberties for Christianity. And Christianity was spread by God's goodness through the West. So, America has been a center of spreading Christianity for generations.

[8:56] United Kingdom. Europe. You know, these have been the centers. And these countries or these territories have enjoyed a lot of peace, peace times for the movement of the things of God.

[9:08] But generations later, decline has set in. Apostasy has set in. And they largely, largely, the systems have now become anti-Christ or anti-God.

[9:22] We don't do God here. We don't do. And not just anti-God because there are others who also do God, but they are fine. But the thing is tuning more and more against the God of our Christ or our Christ and our God.

[9:38] So, persecution is inevitable if you are living. It's already happening in a lot of different parts of the world. It's happening seriously in different parts of the world. And now, it is not enshrined in law.

[9:52] But gradually, gradually, gradually, Christians are becoming the minority in our communities. Okay. So, Christians are becoming, are now becoming the minority.

[10:03] That is why you cannot even be moving around in town and feel so proud as a Christian. Because if you say you're a Christian, it's actually frowned upon, I'm talking about, in the United Kingdom.

[10:15] It's generally, generally frowned upon. You can purport to be other religion and wear religious whatever. When they see you, you don't have to tell them. They know you are of that religion.

[10:27] And it's fine. Try as a Christian in certain circles. You can show you are a Christian. It's not that people are bad, but it's because the world system is being governed by the evil one.

[10:39] And so, that's why persecution will come. So, trouble and suffering will come because of the fallen world. Troubles and suffering will come because we are not of the world. Especially to Christians. And then the third reason why we suffer, some sufferings will come is because of purification.

[10:56] God is purifying his people. God doesn't punish his people. He purifies his people. So, that is why you shouldn't, we should not be surprised when suffering comes.

[11:07] And number two, we should also rejoice and enjoy suffering. Suffering. When you read the verse 13, it talks about, but rejoice in as much as you are partakers. This is talking about in times of suffering, you should be rejoicing because blessed are you.

[11:21] So, our attitude towards suffering for that. Please, let's put the caveat there. Very important. Suffering for the name of Christ. All right. That is very important. Suffering for the name of Christ.

[11:33] Suffering for righteousness' sake. It says that we should rejoice. So, number one, expect suffering. Number two, enjoy suffering. Number three, evaluate suffering. That is very important.

[11:44] Before you quickly go on into rejoicing, you have to evaluate, why am I suffering? Is this suffering because of my own wrongdoing, my breaking of the law?

[11:57] Not the law of God, but just civil law that is not against the law of God. So, there are some civil laws in certain places, like in China and in other parts of the world and coming to the West, where there are some things that the Bible says you should do, but civil authorities said you can't do.

[12:15] In some places, you are not allowed to carry a Bible. You are not allowed to carry or pray. Now, you can't legislate against my worship. You can't do it, but you can't take it away from my heart.

[12:27] That is not, that, as for that one, God tells us, Peter, who wrote this book, Peter said to the authorities, tell whether it is rather who we should obey, you or God.

[12:39] You can't tell us, you judge for yourself whether we should obey you or God. He was telling the leaders, the ruler, chapter 4, verse 19, it says, Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it is right in the sight of God, to listen to you.

[12:52] The Hakeem means to listen to you. Give you a different version. To listen to you more than God. You judge. We can't obey you. We would rather obey God. In chapter 5, verse 29, 30, it talks about how they said we would rather obey God.

[13:08] Peter and the other apostles answered, we ought to obey God rather than men. They answered. We ought to. So men were bringing instructions that were contrary to the instructions of God for the Christian.

[13:21] For instance, if you tell me I cannot tell somebody about Christ, it's prohibited, then definitely you are asking me to come into confrontation with your system.

[13:32] I would like to obey it, but I just can't help it. Because the Christ in me is a Christ that speaks. So Paul said, you can put me, arrest me as a prisoner, but I'm happy to be a prisoner of Christ.

[13:47] You can't make me a prisoner. I'm actually a prisoner of Christ. That is why I end up being your prisoner because you are legislating against Christ. And because I'm a prisoner of Christ, I'll end up being your prisoner.

[13:58] So Paul, in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 1, he said, I'm the prisoner of Christ. He never said the prisoner of Rome. He said, I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles because I am preaching the gospel to you.

[14:09] So we should expect suffer. Evaluate your suffering. So verse 14, again, in 1 Peter chapter 4, it says that if we suffer as Christians, if you suffer as Christians, sorry, verse 4, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, the name of Christ, say the name of Christ.

[14:28] It's important. Say the name of Christ. Yeah, it's important. So if you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you for the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you. On their part is evil spoken of, but on your part is glorified.

[14:41] Now watch this. The next verse, verse 14, however comes, but is the same as however, let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief.

[14:53] So that means that if you murder, you are to suffer. It's a natural law. Suffering, even if the police doesn't arrest you, suffering will find you.

[15:03] It will look for you and look at you. It's a natural law. Anything that goes up comes down. Okay. Whatever goes down comes down. So if I jump, I can't suspend unless I have some suspending systems.

[15:17] If I jump, I'm coming down. If you throw a stone, it will end up hitting something. It will end up. Action and reaction are equal and opposite.

[15:30] Newton's law. All right. Action. An object stays in its state of rest or its motion unless an external force is applied to it.

[15:41] That's Newton's law of motion. So it's going. It's going. It's going. It is a loss of life. There's a law of gravity. The law of gravity.

[15:51] Whatever. If it goes up, gravity will pull you down. Unless you use the law of aerodynamics to overcome the law of gravity. The law of flotation causes things to float and not sink.

[16:05] Because for something not to sink, you have to apply the magic. So life is full of laws. Now, this is very important. One of the laws is that if you are a murderer, you will suffer.

[16:17] Who is a murderer? Someone who terminates life. So he said, when you suffer, don't suffer as a murderer. Or who else? A thief. A thief is supposed to suffer. Or an evildoer.

[16:30] You are doing evil. No one has seen you. You are selling drugs. You are abusing children. You are doing all kinds of things. No one has seen you.

[16:40] It doesn't matter how to position. They might not see you. You can't even be in top government and people will not know you. Pay your way through. Don't worry. Suffering will find you. There are things that police will find you.

[16:52] The Bible says suffering will look for you. Suffering is coming. So just get yourself ready. You will suffer. One way or the other. And the only thing is we don't know what shape the suffering will come in.

[17:03] What shape or form suffering will come in. But he said, murderers are meant to suffer. Thieves are meant to suffer. Evildoers are meant to suffer. And he also, evildoers is a broad, so it covers a lot of things.

[17:16] But he added, busybody. Oh, no. Busybody? Okay, who is a busybody? A busybody. A busybody is another word for busybody.

[17:28] It's a meddler. Meddler. Meddle. To meddle in other people's business. The Bible says that if you suffer, it should not be, that's NIV, should not be as a murderer, a thief or any kind of criminal or evil, even as a meddler.

[17:45] So, murderer and a meddler. When you are a meddler, you also are entitled to what murderers can be entitled to.

[17:57] It's very strange that the scripture should add a meddler, a busybody. Who is a meddler? It's a bishop over other people's matters. A meddler is overseer.

[18:09] Someone who is overseeing other people's matters. That has not got anything to do with him. I pray God deliver us from being meddlers. Praise God.

[18:20] So, a meddler is someone who oversees others' affairs or making trouble by interfering in others' business.

[18:35] You are creating problems, but interfering with business, that has not got to do with you. Other people's matters. Interfering. That is a meddler. And he said, obviously, some of you and some of us have actually meddled in other people's business, and you've actually suffered some shame and suffering, and the backlash has not been favorable at all.

[18:57] All right? Especially like a gossip. So, I believe that the level of suffering that will go to a meddler, a thief, or an evildoer and a meddler, I believe that, you know, in that order, the severity might be less and less and less.

[19:15] So, a meddler is stronger. A thief, a bit less stronger. And then an evildoer, it depends on what kind of evil. And then a meddler is also. But still, you will suffer.

[19:28] If you get involved with other people's business, especially those of you who have made your... You have always gossipy, always talking about this one has done this and this one, and look at this one.

[19:39] What has that got to do with you? You know, so, meddlers. All right. So, it says, oh, a Christian should not get yourself involved with this and say, oh, it's my weakness.

[19:51] Stealing shouldn't be a weakness. Get over it. I mean, because we are human beings, one or two times, we might be found wanting. Now, if you are suffering because you, I mean, you were a kleptomaniac before you came to Christ, and every now and then, the demon of kleptomaniac jumps on your head.

[20:10] I'm talking about theft. And you go and steal. Or you steal, you know, you nick somebody's 20 pounds, 20 dollars. I mean, nick.

[20:21] You stole some. Some of you have been stealing pens and papers from the office. Some of you have been doing dodgy deals and stuff like that at work and stuff like that.

[20:32] You fall into a category of a thief. Who is a thief? Someone who takes what belongs to others without permission. Doesn't belong to you. And you take it. And you try to own it without permission.

[20:44] You are a thief. Whether you stole from your mother, you are a thief. From your husband, you are a thief. From your father, you are a thief. From your wife, you'll be stealing from your wife's account. You are a thief. You are a thief.

[20:58] Whether you stole from their offering, you are a thief. Hallelujah. So, we shouldn't suffer like that. So, when someone suffers as a murderer, you see, that is not the suffering he's talking about we should rejoice for.

[21:16] All right. So, it says you have to evaluate your suffering. That's what I'm talking about. So, you have to expect suffering, enjoy suffering, evaluate suffering.

[21:27] Evaluate suffering. It's very important. So, we are not supposed to fear suffering, be surprised by suffering, or be scared by suffering.

[21:38] But we are supposed to evaluate suffering and choose the right way to suffer. Okay. You have to. Don't suffer the wrong way. How do you suffer the wrong way? By getting involved in some of the things that have been mentioned.

[21:51] And sometimes it happens. But let's try and avoid getting into things that will make us suffer wrongfully or the wrong way. Because that doesn't command the blessing of God. All right. So, that's talking about in our social living, in our human living.

[22:05] So, then verse 15 says that, but let none of you, let none of you, it's very important. Let none of you as Christians, you are a sojourner. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, as a thief, or as an evildoer, as a busybody in other people's matters.

[22:21] Now, 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 13, it talks about busybodies. And without, they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but tactless also, and busybodies.

[22:39] You see? Tactless and busybodies speaking. So, busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. Busybody. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3.

[22:50] Thank you, Jesus. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 11. For we hear that there are some which work amongst you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

[23:05] Sometimes when people don't have a job, they can be very busy about other people's business. Sometimes you are not busy. That's why you have so much time for everything. To be commenting on everything on social media.

[23:19] Somebody said, my daughter has done this, or my boyfriend has done this, and you are commenting. Now, these boys, now they said everything. My pastor has stolen orange.

[23:30] Now, all these kind of pastors. And then they are telling you, thank you, my sister. Thank you, my brother, for saying it. So, we have to say these things. You don't have a job. You are not busy. They are not busy. There are things here.

[23:41] You have time for all kinds of stuff. So, he said, let them work. There will be busybodies in other people's matters.

[23:51] And busybodies attract suffering. I'm just preaching to help somebody. Instead of coming to me for prayer. God, I'm going, pastor, I'm going through a lot. Check what you've been busy about.

[24:02] And check that there are no. See, there are times that we will engage in things that will legitimate. Legitimatized suffering. Unnecessary suffering.

[24:14] Suffering the wrong way will be legitimatized. Because of what we are getting ourselves into. Because of the issues we are getting ourselves into. So, I think we all should take responsibility.

[24:25] And everyone, none of us is exempt. Me inclusive. I have to be careful. What I allow around me. What I do. Because of human nature. Suffering. You are in a falling well.

[24:37] And you, a Christian, can't even be caught doing something. Or in a compromising state. Or sometimes it's not like breaking God's law. But you are doing something that will bring suffering on you. Unnecessary. Unnecessary suffering.

[24:48] So, choose your suffering. Choose your suffering. And choose to suffer the right way. What is the right way of suffering? Look at the verse 16. Verse 16 says, However, but if you suffer.

[25:00] Thank you, Jesus. Yet, if you. If anyone. Any man suffer as a Christian. You can suffer as a Christian. So, this tells you that.

[25:12] When, if you are a murderer. You attract suffering. If you are a thief. You attract suffering. If you are an evil doer. You are entitled to suffering. If you are. If you are a busy body in other men's matters.

[25:22] You are entitled to suffering. And as well. If you are a Christian. You will be entitled to suffering. It's life. That first.

[25:34] Philippians chapter 3 verse 10. That I might know him. And the power of his resurrection. And the fellowship of his suffering. You see, it's part of it.

[25:44] Being made conformable to his death. That's Christianity. That's Christianity. In Philippians chapter. I think 229. Or 28.

[25:55] Or 129. 24. It says that. You. It is not given to you. Only to believe in the Lord Jesus. But also to suffer for his name. Yeah. Yeah.

[26:06] It's not only to break through. But to also suffer. For his name. Therefore his name must be there. Philippians 129. For unto you is given. In the behalf of.

[26:17] Can you imagine. Can you imagine. On the behalf of Christ. It's like you are representing him in a suffering. That's why I said we are partakers. On the behalf of Christ. Not only to believe on him. But also to suffer for his sake.

[26:30] This is called Christianity 101. Because. If we suffer with him. Then. We will be glorified with him. Romans chapter 8. Verse 18.

[26:41] We will be glorified with him. If we suffer with him. For I reckon that the suffering of this present time. Is not worth. Compared to the glory. Verse 17. Verse 17. If you are children.

[26:52] They are heirs. If you are heirs of God. They are joint heirs with Christ. If so be that. You suffer with him. Why? That he may also be glorified. Your attachment to Christ will entitle you to certain sufferings.

[27:05] Why? Because we live in a fully world. And the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one. Simple. It's a simple equation. It's a simple. So it is very foreign and strange to be a Christian.

[27:19] And find suffering for Christ strange. What else do you expect? What do you expect? What do you expect? When you get yourself uncovered.

[27:31] Or your chest not covered. And you are walking in the cold. And you are maybe not exercising. But you are just playing in the cold. The natural progression or projection.

[27:43] Is you will catch cold. I mean this comes down. If you have been slept for two days. You have not slept. And you are driving. You are likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.

[27:53] And this is. These are normal things that will happen. They will happen. If you. You are. Doing some things. You will just. A pregnancy is no far.

[28:07] You will be pregnant. Or you will pregnant somebody. Or you will catch some sickness. These things. I mean. You can't be celibate and go and catch some ACDR.

[28:18] You will be pregnant. Hey. Thank you Jesus. So. It says that. When you suffer.

[28:28] As a Christian. So being a Christian. Entitles you. To a certain. Suffering. Which God says is okay. All right. God said it's okay.

[28:40] You are suffering. From doing right. And when you look at the text. In. The book of Peter. It's. It's set in a few places. And. When it comes to suffering.

[28:51] I mean. I actually. Mentioned suffering. In a few places. About how. We. Will suffer. As Christians. Is there. In chapter one. Verse 17. He spoke about.

[29:03] Potential. Suffering. Coming to. The believer. Chapter one. Verse 17. He talks about. And. If you. You call on. On the father. Who without respect of persons.

[29:15] Judges according to every man's will. Pass your time here. So. In. In fear. Okay. Pass the time of your. Sojourning here. In fear. Verse 18.

[29:27] For as much as. For as much as you know. That you are not redeemed. From corruptible things. I think. Let's go to chapter two. Chapter two. Verse 23. I just want to. Show you.

[29:38] Yeah. Chapter two. Verse 23. It says. Who. When he was reviled. Reviled not. When he. When he suffered. He threatened not. Okay. So. But committed himself.

[29:48] So you can see. In. Chapter four. Verse six. Chapter four. Verse six. For this cause. Was the gospel preached to them.

[29:59] That are dead. That it might be. According to God. But. Yeah. According to. I'm actually reading scriptures on the. On judgment. But. The scriptures on. Suffering.

[30:09] Chapter two. Verse 19. Chapter two. Verse 20. Chapter three. Verse 14. Chapter three. Verse 17. Let's look at this. Chapter two. Verse 19. Sorry. We'll go back to the. Earlier on. For. This is. Thank you. The. If a man. For conscience.

[30:20] Towards God. Endures grief. Suffering wrongfully. So. You can be doing the right thing. And still be suffering. Actually. That's what I'm trying to say. You can be doing the right thing. And suffer.

[30:31] Look at verse 20. Verse 20. Says that. For what glory is it. If. When you be buffeted. For your faults. See that's why I said. There are two types of suffering.

[30:42] You can suffer for your faults. You take it patiently. But if when you do well. And suffer for it. So. Not every suffering. Is a reflection of wrongdoing.

[30:53] There are some sufferings. That will come to you. Because you are doing. The right thing. So. Don't be surprised. And. Chapter three. Verse 14. He says that. But.

[31:04] And if ye suffer. For what? For righteousness sake. Come on. Happy are ye. Really? So. You can be doing right. And suffer. For it. Not.

[31:15] Suffering in life. Because. You are just doing right. But you are doing right. Because you are. Okay. For suffering. So you are. You are suffering. For doing right. Because of.

[31:26] The right stance. Because of the right direction. You are going. You are suffering. So. There are times where. A person may go through.

[31:36] Difficult times. Because they are doing the right thing. Chapter three. Verse 17. First Peter three. Verse 17. You. He said that. For. It is better. If the will of God be so.

[31:47] No. It can actually be the will of God. That ye suffer. But not just. Normal suffering. Suffering for well doing. Than for evil.

[31:58] You don't have to suffer for evil. It's the will of God. Sometimes it might be the will of God. And so watch. This is a very strong statement. That means that. Even though. The enemy might be behind it.

[32:10] And be persecuting you. And going through all that. Like in your family. Oh. Mother Mary. Look at Mary. Mother Mary. This church. Church testing. Even though you might be going through it. It is actually.

[32:20] The will of God. That you do that. You go through it. Is that. God is not making them. Attack you. But God is allowing. That. And he's using. The suffering. I'm going to.

[32:31] Talk about that in a minute. God is using the suffering. He is using the suffering. And I pray. That God will help us all. In Jesus mighty name.

[32:43] Because. When we are weak. According to 2nd Corinthians. When we are weak. Then we are strong. You are. As a Christian. 2nd Corinthians chapter 12. Verse 9. And 10.

[32:54] Particularly verse 10. As a Christian. You are never so weak. That you are not powerful. You are never too weak. To be powerful. In God. You are never too.

[33:04] Because when you are weak. Then the strength of God. Kicks in. When you are weak. So. It is good to embrace. Standing for God. And for God. To help us.

[33:15] Now. Let me just digress. A little bit. And draw. Draw your attention. To this fact. About. People. Supposition. And. Philosophy. About suffering.

[33:25] As opposed to. God's power. So people say things like. If there is God. Why must. There be suffering in the world. I said it earlier. Why? Because it is a falling world.

[33:37] But can God. Make it right. He set a time. To clear everything. And do a new heaven. And a new earth. And put the new man. In the new heaven. And the new earth. But for now. He has judgment.

[33:48] He has. I'll probably mention. There are categories of judgment. That God has to deal with different things. Now. There's a branch of theology.

[33:58] That explains. Or let me put it this way. There's a certain philosophy. And a theological philosophy. That says. It's called process theology. Okay. It is not godly.

[34:10] It's not biblical. Process theology. So what is process theology? It's the theology that purports that.

[34:21] You know. God is in the process of learning how to handle the situations we go through. So he will get there. He's trying. He's trying. As life goes on. There are more. New. New things God is discovering.

[34:33] About human suffering. And he's managing. The devil is a liar. That's from the pit of hell. It's also called. It's open theism. God is there.

[34:43] But he's not in control. It's just. Things are running the way. Anything can run. No. But there is this truth. There is the defense. The theology that explains why God can be.

[34:55] Why there is God and suffering can also exist. It's called theodicy. Theodicy is the theology. Theodicy. Theology that deals with.

[35:06] That's what I'm trying to explain. There is suffering but there is God. And it's okay. God will use the suffering for his purpose. He is not bringing the suffering. But he's allowing the suffering for his purpose.

[35:19] Because when you are a son of God. Let's look at Jesus' case. In Hebrews chapter 5 verse 8 and 9. I think you might like this one.

[35:31] It says that. Though he were a son. Talking about Jesus. Give me the New King James. Let's stay in the New King James now. Though he was a son. Yet Jesus learned obedience. How?

[35:41] By the things which he suffered. Oh. So wasn't he God? Did he learn something? In his humanity. There are things that he went through. The human. So he learned some things. In humanity.

[35:52] Because that's the first time God has become a human being. But God should know that. Yeah. As a human being. Human beings are not oblation. So in his humanity. He learned. As a son.

[36:03] He learned some things through suffering. Look at verse 9. He learned something. And having been perfected. What he learned. The suffering went through. Who made him qualified in a certain way.

[36:14] He has become the author of eternal salvation. To all those who obey him. Not to every human being. Jesus is not saving every human being. He will serve only those who obey him. Okay. If you didn't obey him.

[36:24] And you die. You are going to hell. You will go to hell. And you will burn in hell. Especially if you have heard the gospel. You didn't believe it. And you didn't receive Christ. You will burn in hell. It's just. That's the Bible.

[36:35] All right. So he said. He became the author. The author of eternal salvation. To all. Once we obey him. He is the one. But he had to go through suffering.

[36:48] He learned obedience. He learned obedience. Through the things which he suffered. Jesus learned obedience.

[36:59] Through the things which he suffered. There is a kind of assurance of sonship. That comes through the experience of suffering. There is an assurance of your sonship.

[37:09] That comes through suffering. It gives you a certain assurance of your sonship. When Christians go through suffering. I'm talking about suffering for the right things. The right suffering.

[37:20] The right way of suffering. When Christians go through the right way of suffering. It's as I said in the previous message. It is to prove us. And to approve us.

[37:31] Prove that we are genuine. That's why in Romans chapter 8. We read it earlier on verse 17. Says that. If we are children. Then heirs. Heirs of God. And joint heirs with Christ.

[37:42] If indeed we suffer with him. That we might. There is a kind of assurance of sonship. That comes. That assurance comes through. The experience of suffering.

[37:52] So suffering for Christ. Is not very strange. Is not very strange. We need to go through. Suffering for the right thing.

[38:03] And standing for the right cause. And if it brings suffering. So be it. Now. He says that. We shouldn't suffer as a murderer. Or suffer as a thief.

[38:15] Or suffer as an evildoer. Or a murderer. But if anyone suffers. It's okay. It's okay. If you suffer for the right reasons. It's okay. Now. Then he says that.

[38:26] If anyone suffer as a Christian. Now. This is. The word Christian. Is used three times. In the entire Bible. Only three times. This is one. Of the three times.

[38:36] The word Christian. Is used. The. The. The other one. Is in Acts chapter 11. Verse 26. Where the believers. Were called Christians. In Antioch.

[38:47] And when they had found him. They brought. Him to Antioch. So. It was that. For a whole year. They assembled. See. Assembling.

[38:57] Christianity. And gathering. Is just. Normal. It's just normal. We have always to gather. They assembled. With the church. And taught. When we gather.

[39:08] Teaching is essential. Aspect. Of our gathering. And taught. A great. Many people. And the disciples. Were first. Called. Christians. In Antioch. Now. Our.

[39:19] Why. Christians. Now. Those days. The term. Christian. Being called. Christian. Was not positive. It carried. A negative. Connotation. It's like. A word.

[39:30] A term. It was. A derogative. Term. Or derogatory. Term. They used it. To spite you. Oh yeah. Oh Christian. A Christian. Because those days.

[39:42] In Latin. I. A. A. A. N. O. S. Iannos. Iannos. Is a Latin word. That means. An inherent.

[39:53] Of somebody. So. For instance. If they say. You are. A Hitler. Iannos. That means. Oh. It's a. Derogatory. You. You are. You are. A follower of Hitler.

[40:04] You follow. And we. They spite you. So. In the same way. They are calling them. Christians. Not in a positive. No. On a positive note. But. To spite them. Negatively. Oh yeah.

[40:14] Oh yeah. Look at them. There they go. Christy. Christy. And so. It was. Christian. Christian. Christian. Oh. Christian. Christian. Christian. Christian. They used to call them. Christian. Christian. Christian. And in those days. You are either.

[40:25] An inherent. Everybody. Must. Must be. Kaiser. Rianos. Caesar. Kaiser. Rianos. So. You must be. An inherent. Of Kaiser.

[40:35] And you are. Yeah. You are the right person. You are the right person. Yeah. You are very. You are very. Accommodating. And you are very tolerant. And you are. Yeah. You are inclusive. Yeah. Kaiser. Kaiser Rianos.

[40:46] You are doing everything. The way the media say we should do it. You are doing everything. The way the population. You are doing everything. The way. Oh Caesar is coming. Oh hail Caesar. You bow down. Caesar is Lord.

[40:57] And they will not say. Caesar. Kaiser. Okurios. They will say. Yesu. Okurios. Yesu. Okurios. Not Kaiser. And that was bringing. That's where. The persecution. They can't say.

[41:08] Kaiser is Lord. When Jesus is. And now. So they were called. Instead of. Kaiser Rianos. They were. They were happy to be called. Christianos. So now.

[41:18] Watch this. They used that term. In a derogate. Oh Christianos. Christianos. Christianos. But they used it so much. That now. It became actually. Like. Their representation.

[41:29] Or. Their identity. And an acceptable identity. Of course. So when. Now. It got to a time. When you say. Somebody is a Christian. It wasn't negative anymore. It was. Oh yeah. It's the. One of those people.

[41:40] One of that. The group of people. And so. When they were calling them. Christians. The first time. They started calling them. It was the. Those in Antioch. The. The people.

[41:51] The who called them. And the disciples. Were first called. Antioch. It wasn't the church. That called themselves. Christians. It was the. Unbelievers. The world started calling them. Christianos. Christianos.

[42:02] Christianos. Christianos. Christianos. Hey. The Christianos. Here they come. Christianos. Hey. Are you also one of those Christianos? No, no, no. I can't be. I don't know. It's frownable.

[42:13] Christianos. Christianos. They were not ashamed of suffering. Oh. Hallelujah. They were not ashamed of suffering. After a while. It was okay to be Christianos. And so Paul.

[42:24] In the second place. It was used in the scriptures. Paul. In Acts chapter 26. Was preaching. And then the king said, verse 28, then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuaded me to be a Christian.

[42:37] Hallelujah. And then Paul said in verse 29, it's not only you. Not only you. Paul said, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except the fact that I'm in chains.

[42:56] I'm a prisoner. I don't mean for you to be a prisoner, but for you to come and know what I know. So that's the second place. So it was used three times. Acts chapter 11, 26, Acts chapter 26, verse 28.

[43:07] And now this place in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 16. It said, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him, oh, oh, you see, don't be ashamed about Christianos.

[43:20] Don't be ashamed. Your family is laughing at you. Oh, church, Bible study. Bible study. Go get married. We will see whether you get married. Don't worry. Don't worry. I'm happy they bring those challenges because God will prove them wrong.

[43:35] Time will prove them wrong. You know, time will prove them wrong that you're on the right side of history. And so when you suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed. Romans chapter 1, verse 16. It said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

[43:47] Don't be ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. Because being a Christian, suffering as a Christian, because suffering brings shame. Okay? It's like you are being castigated.

[43:57] Suffering brings shame. You are being marginalized. You are being isolated. You are being disdained. And you are going through something and it looks like shameful.

[44:08] No, don't be ashamed. Students, sisters, student brother. Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. Okay? So suffering said, when you suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed.

[44:20] In 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 8, it says that, don't be ashamed. Be not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me, his prisoner.

[44:32] But share with me in this. Oh, you see, suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering. It's either you suffer and be ashamed or you avoid suffering and you are not ashamed. He said, don't suffer and don't think there's nothing wrong.

[44:44] There's something wrong. Suffer. But share with me in the suffering for the gospel according to the power. The power of God is on you. So don't let us be ashamed. In verse 12, verse 12 said, for that way I suffer all this.

[44:57] Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed. Hallelujah! Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed for I am persuaded. I know whom I believe and I'm persuaded that whatever I kept him is able to keep to the day.

[45:11] So we shouldn't be ashamed of suffering. Mark chapter 8, verse 28. Mark 8, 38. Jesus says that if you are ashamed of me. You.

[45:22] If you are ashamed of me. For whoever is ashamed of me. This is Jesus. It's called red letters. Red letters. It is red. That's Jesus himself from his mouth. He said, for whoever is ashamed of me and my ways, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the son of man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father.

[45:50] Oh, wow! Don't be ashamed. Four times I've seen. We shouldn't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed to take a stand as a Christian. They'll frown on you. They'll laugh at you. They'll mock you. You'll be subjected to mockery, abuse, and stuff like that.

[46:02] Don't be ashamed. Okay? Don't be ashamed if you suffer as a Christian. Don't be ashamed. Don't be. So, verse 16. Let's go back to the verse 16.

[46:12] He says that, But yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter, whatever you are suffering. The next verse says that, For the time.

[46:25] Probably have to end there. This is none. For the time has come for judgment to begin. Eh? What? Judgment? Yes. Judgment to begin where?

[46:37] Oh, no. Not on the unbelievers. Where? On the house of God? At the house of God? And if it begins with us first. So, judgment is going to begin with us. Yes.

[46:48] Oh, what kind of judgment are we talking about? I think, let me try and see if I can round this thing up quickly. If it begins with us. Okay. Look, look, look. And if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

[47:01] Oh, that's not going to be good. Even if we is going to begin with us, there is no good for them. The next verse, verse 18. Now, if the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?

[47:13] Verse 19. But if you suffer, therefore, let whoever suffer according to the will of God commit their soul to him in doing good as a faithful creator.

[47:24] That's very important. Verse 17. Let me just try and sum it up in verse 17. So, the time has come for judgment. When you read the book of Peter, it really spoke about judgment quite a few times.

[47:36] That's what I was quoting. And then 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 6 speaks about judgment. Chapter 1, verse 17 speaks about judgment. Chapter 2, verse 23 speaks about judgment. It says that God who judges, you know, commit yourself to God who judges.

[47:49] Oh, wow. He judges righteously. Hmm. That's interesting. And then 2 Peter 2, verse 3, verse 4, verse 9, chapter 3, verse 7.

[48:00] 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 3, verse 4, verse 9, chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 7. It all makes references to judgment. So, this book seems to speak a lot about judgment.

[48:11] It says that by the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men.

[48:25] So, judgment is coming. So, he kept referring to judgment a lot. And he spoke about judgment in quite a few things. So, he spoke about how judgment, you know, when you study very carefully, it tells us judgment began with the angels.

[48:42] So, 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 3 and 4, it talks about how God's judgment began with the angels. But it didn't stay with the angels. By covetions, they exploit you with deceptive words.

[48:55] For a long time, their judgment has not been idle and their destruction has not slumbered. Now, look at verse 4. Verse 4, says that 4. If God did not spare the angels who sinned.

[49:08] You see that? Who sinned and cursed them. So, he started judging them. He judged angels. And then when you read the verse 9, when you look through, then when you pass through the Old Testament, judgment passed through the Old Testament on men.

[49:25] Okay? So, God also judged men. Verse 5. When you read all the way from verse 5, it talks about how and did not spare the ancient world. God saved no one. And eight people, the preacher of righteousness, bringing them.

[49:37] So, there's not. Time is not about. When you read, you realize that in the Old Testament, God judged men. God judged men. So, he started with angels, number one. And he judged men, number two. Now, in the New Testament, this is very important.

[49:49] In the New Testament, he's starting with the church. All right. So, God is judging, is starting with the church. In the New Testament, judgment begins with the church.

[50:01] 1 Peter 1, verse 17, chapter 2, verse 23. 1 Peter 1, verse 17. Look at it. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each man's works, conduct yourself through the time of your stay here in fear.

[50:18] The way you are conducting. Because God is judging. He's judging the church. He's judging. Okay. So, I'm going to show you about how this judgment is not talking about the final judgment.

[50:30] The judgment of the church is not the final judgment. It's the current judgment. It's the current judgment. So, he judges according to our works.

[50:41] And when you look at chapter 2, verse 23. Chapter 2, verse 21. 1 Peter 2, verse 23. Who? That's talking about Jesus. When he was reviled, he reviled not.

[50:52] When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to God who judges righteously. Okay. And then chapter 4, verse 6. 1 Peter 4, verse 6. We read this earlier on.

[51:02] For this reason, the gospel was preached to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. So, even in our living, there is some kind of judgment. It's called the disciplinary judgment of God.

[51:17] Disciplinary judgment of God. God will find a way to discipline his own. It's the disciplinary judgment of God. It begins with God's people.

[51:28] And in the Old Testament, there was something similar in Jeremiah chapter 25. How he said, judgment, I'll begin judgment with my people. So, Jeremiah chapter 25, verse 29. It talks about the judgment begins.

[51:39] Judgment always begins. Okay. For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by my name. I begin there.

[51:51] And should you be utterly unpunished? No. You shall not be unpunished. For I will call for a sword on all inhabitants of the earth.

[52:03] But guess where I'm beginning? I'm beginning from my own people. So, it says that it is time for judgment to begin. Watch this. For the time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God.

[52:15] So, there is judgment that begins. Now, when you look at 1, verse 17 again. 1 Peter 1, verse 17. Let me show you something in 1 Peter. And if you call on the Father. He's a Father.

[52:27] But without partiality judges. He's a Father and he's a judge. If you call God a Father, then you must know he's also a judge. You can't only have God as a Father and he's not a judge.

[52:40] He judges. And his purpose for judging is he judges his people to discipline his people. Not to punish us, but to purify us. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 9.

[52:54] I need you to. Verse 9. Let's go to verse 9. Verse 9 and verse 10. He says, furthermore, we have human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be subject to who?

[53:08] To the Father of Spirit. That's our heavenly fathers. And look at the next verse. Verse 10. For they, our natural fathers. Happy Father's Day. Our natural fathers. They indeed, for a few days, chastened.

[53:23] Chastened and disciplined as it seemed best to them. But God for our profit. So God disciplines us for our profit. Why?

[53:34] That we may be partakers of his holiness. So he's a holy God and he has holy children. So he takes us through purification. So sometimes the suffering you might be going through is for the purposes of purifying you.

[53:50] God is taking you through a process to purify you so you'll be partaker of his holiness. He's purifying us to be partaker of his holiness because he's later on coming to judge the world of sin.

[54:01] But he's purifying us so that when it's time for him to judge the world, he's just judging the world of sin. God. Now, this one, it says that, chapter 4 again, verse 17, it says that for it's time for judgment to begin in the house.

[54:18] For it is time for, the time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God. In God's house. Now, I was teaching on God's house previously.

[54:28] But because of my time, I will end and I'll pick it on the judgment in God's house. Because it's left to just to each other. I'm just finishing on this. But I think I'll finish it and move into chapter 5. But judgment.

[54:40] Judgment is going to start in God's house. Where is God's house? The church. The church. What kind of judgment is that? Not judgment for eternal punishment. Judgment for purification. He'll deal with you.

[54:52] You are a Christian. God will deal with you because a good father will discipline a son in life so we can partake of his holiness. So don't think that you'll get away with fornication. You didn't see that one coming.

[55:05] I guess. Don't think you'll get away with stealing. Don't think you'll get away with the arrogance. We won't get away with it. God will discipline us. How is it going? He will use different means to take us through a process so we can be partakers of his holiness.

[55:20] And so even if you are suffering, that's why by the time you die, you have gone through a certain governmental dealings of God. Or disciplinary dealings of God. So by the time you die, you are qualified to be with him.

[55:33] He will discipline us. That's why I said the gospel was preached to those who are, it was preached to them though they can be judged according to men. But in the spirit they live. So God judges us.

[55:46] God purifies us. When an unbeliever is going through crisis and the believer is also going through same crisis, to the unbeliever it can be punishment. But to the believer it's not punishment, it's purification. Because Christ took our punishment.

[55:58] So there's no punishment for any believer. It's purification for the believer. We won't get away with wrongdoing. God will discipline us. He will judge us.

[56:09] The way you are treating your wife. What you are doing. Brother, God will judge you. And if you are a Christian, then judgment is starting with you. How? Not for eternal damnation, but for purification.

[56:23] Purifying you. So we'll be partakers of this world. I praise God. Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

[56:37] You can also subscribe to Caroush Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share and subscribe to our podcast so you are always up to date. Be blessed. Be blessed.