Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.
If you're new or visiting with us, welcome.
We're glad that you're here.
And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced that there's no one so good
that they don't need God's grace, and no one's so bad that they can't have it,
which means that God has something to say to every one of us in His Word,
which is why we keep coming back week after week.
If you've been with us, you know that we're in the book of 1 Peter,
and the book of 1 Peter is a letter.
It's a letter written by a man named Peter,
and he writes it in the first century to churches that are in modern-day Turkey,
and he writes it to do two things.
He writes it to encourage them and also to instruct them.
He wants to encourage them that Jesus is worth it,
Jesus is worth living for, He's worth loving for,
and that Jesus is worth suffering for, and He's worth dying for.
And he doesn't just write them to encourage them,
but he also writes them to instruct them,
that they would know how they should live as Christians in the world,
and that they would also know how to respond when they face opposition from the world.
That's the situation that they're in.
They're feeling out of place in the world,
facing opposition from the world,
and so that's why Peter writes to them,
to encourage them and instruct them in that situation.
Now, the last couple weeks, we've been heavy on encouragement.
Peter tells them in verses 1 and 2 that they're exiles,
but they're also chosen.
He helps them understand their identity.
They've been chosen by God, and they belong to God,
which means they also feel out of place in this world.
And then we looked last week at what it means that God is their Father.
It means that they have an inheritance,
and it also means that God is coming back for them.
And so all this is great encouragement,
and still, Peter's readers are in the situation of feeling out of place,
and facing what Peter's going to refer to as trials.
And so despite all this encouragement,
they're still in the same place they've been left in.
They're still facing these struggles.
And Peter's not unaware of that,
and so he's going to continue his encouragement this week,
and he's going to address how to find hope in suffering.
And so part of our question this morning is going to be,
how do we find hope in and through suffering?
And as we come to this,
it's important to give some clarity,
some definitions for suffering,
because when we talk about suffering as Christians,
we're often talking about all sorts of different things
that fall into different categories.
And I'm going to give you at least three different categories
for suffering that we find in the Bible.
First of all, category number one,
there's just general suffering.
This is suffering that we face
because we live in a world where sin and evil are present.
If you lose someone that you love dearly,
it's not necessarily your fault.
That's just the result of evil and destruction in this world.
If you face a debilitating illness,
that's general suffering.
Not necessarily your fault.
It's not necessarily something that you did,
but it's the result of sin in this world.
Second kind of suffering is suffering
that happens because of foolishness or sin on your part.
So if you go to Cripple Creek
and you put it all in black
and then you walk away
and you're $25,000 in debt,
that is a type of suffering.
That's suffering because of your foolishness.
That's suffering type number two.
And all of us experience at various times
and in various degrees
suffering of types one and type two,
whether we're Christians or not Christians,
because we live in this world
where people who make foolish decisions
and we're people who face the consequences of sin.
And then there's category number three,
the third and final category of suffering.
And this is suffering that happens
because we follow Jesus Christ.
And so this is not suffering that happens to all people,
both those inside the church and outside of the church,
but this is specifically suffering
that happens to people who love Jesus
and follow Jesus.
As we come to this passage this morning,
we are going to be talking about type number three.
And I don't mean to minimize one in two types of suffering,
but I want us to be clear
about what the Bible is talking about
in specific passages.
And so I don't want to make the right point to you
from the wrong passage.
And so just from the front,
we're talking about the kind of suffering that comes
because we love the name of Jesus Christ
and we follow him.
This is the kind of suffering
that the receivers of Peter's letter are facing.
They're facing social ostracization, probably.
People are talking bad about them.
They're slandering them,
Peter tells them at one point.
They're saying that they believe things,
perhaps, that they don't believe.
They're saying things about them that are not true.
Maybe they have the loss of job opportunities
or employment because of their faith in Christ.
That is the kind of suffering
that these believers are facing.
And so we're going to talk about
how do we find joy in suffering,
suffering specifically for the name of Jesus Christ.
The second thing we have to clear up
right from the front
is we talk about suffering
when American Christians,
Christians in North America,
think about suffering.
Often we think of
the place that we live
as a place of great struggle for Christians.
Now there's an organization called Open Doors
and they make a ranking
of the most difficult, challenging countries
where it is to be a Christian,
the places where Christians face
the most difficult persecution.
And they only rank the top 50 countries.
What number do you think the USA is
on the top 50 countries
of places where it's difficult to be a Christian?
We don't make the list.
We live in one of the easiest places
and times to be a Christian.
And so it's helpful and important
to keep that in mind
as we come to this passage.
We're not people with a victim complex
who are constantly talking about
how difficult and hard it is
for us to be Christians on the one hand.
On the other hand,
we're aware of the difficulty
of being a Christian around the world.
One in nine Christians right now
face intense persecution.
And we're also aware
that just because we live in a country
where it's very easy to be a Christian,
there are still times
where, like the readers of 1 Peter,
we feel out of place in this world.
And so on the one hand,
I don't want to minimize
what it is that we experience as Christians.
On the other hand,
I don't want to exaggerate it.
We face real struggle and suffering
in this world because we're Christians.
And if we lived in another country,
it would be a lot worse.
With that,
how do we find joy in suffering?
That's our question.
We're going to be in 1 Peter 1,
starting at verse 6.
And as we come to verse 6,
you can find it to read along
in your worship guide
or on your phone or in your Bible.
And remember that this is God's word.
And God tells us that his word
is more precious than gold,
even the finest gold.
And it's sweeter than honey,
even honey that comes
straight from the honeycomb.
And so that's why we're so intent
to learn from God in his word.
And so we're going to read now,
starting in verse 6.
In this you rejoice,
though now for a little while,
if necessary,
you have been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire,
may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Verse 8.
Though you have not seen him,
you love him.
Though you do not now see him,
you believe in him
and rejoice with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory,
obtaining the outcome of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.
I invite you to pray with me
as we come to this portion of God's word.
Father in heaven,
we thank you,
as we do every week,
for your word.
We have not seen Jesus,
but we love him.
And we don't see him,
but we believe in him.
And so we want to rejoice
with joy that's inexpressible.
We thank you that even though
we haven't seen Jesus,
you have given us your word.
And so we ask that you would use it
this morning to help us.
You'd use it to help us understand
how we can rejoice in our suffering,
how we can rejoice in you,
and ultimately that we would understand
your love for us
and that we would respond to it.
We ask these things
not because we have earned them from you
or we deserve them,
but because Jesus has earned them
and he deserves them.
And so we ask them in his name.
Amen.
Some of you know,
I recently purchased a home
really close to this church.
And of course I'm going through,
the house is about as old
as this church is,
almost 25 years.
And so there's all kinds
of deferred maintenance
and things going on.
And I've inherited a sprinkler system,
which I've never owned before.
And I went out one day
and I noticed that I was doing
an excellent job of watering
the sidewalk and the street.
And so I asked my neighbor,
I said,
is that my sprinkler head
or your sprinkler head?
And she said,
oh, that's absolutely
your sprinkler head.
So I turned off all the water
of those sprinklers
and I turned down the system
and I went out
and I bought one of those sprinklers
that you hook up to a hose,
you know,
the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.
So I'm out there in my front yard,
I'm setting up the sprinkler
and I'm trying to figure out
the right angle to get
so that I'm watering
as much grass as I can
and as little sidewalk as I can.
And of course,
I don't know what I'm doing,
so I'm just running around
trying all these different angles
and I'm imagining
it's kind of like high noon,
you know,
all the windows are flipping open
around the neighborhood
so that everyone can watch this kid
who doesn't know what he's doing.
And my neighbor Dan comes out
and Dan's helping me.
He says,
you know,
I'm sure, Matthew,
you know all these things.
I said,
Dan,
I don't.
So you just tell me
whatever wisdom you have.
So he helps me position
the sprinkler in the right place
and we figure it out
and probably the whole neighborhood
is still watching.
And as Dan and I finish,
Dan says,
Matthew,
I just,
one final question.
Do you like,
do you like football?
Do you watch football?
Is that something you follow?
Dan,
not,
I mean,
not really,
not really a sports guy.
I don't,
I don't really follow football
and I'm feeling bad,
right?
Because he's kind of asking me
if I want to be his friend.
And so Dan says,
well,
you know,
we like to watch the Broncos
and we're not,
we're not super into it
but what we really like to do
on a Sunday
is we,
we like to make some wings
and we like to make various dips
and put them out
and we just like to sit
and eat those things
and watch football.
And I said,
Dan,
I love football.
It is actually
my favorite sport.
Dan said,
that's great.
Sue and I will have you
over sometime.
The point is this.
Some people are just there
for the snacks,
right?
I'm just there
for the snacks.
If you invite me over
to watch the Super Bowl,
yeah,
I'm really about it.
I'm really concerned
about which team wins.
I won't be there
to watch the game
but I'm really concerned
about which team wins.
Because I'm just there
for the snacks.
And if you're there
for the snacks,
when the snacks disappear,
so will you.
In the church,
the same is true.
Some people are just there
for the snacks.
People come to church
for all sorts of reasons.
Some people come to church
because they know
it's a wonderful place
to find community
and fellowship
and friendship.
Maybe they feel isolated
and they think
this is going to be
the place
where I'm going
to get connected.
Some people come
to the church thinking
this will be the wonderful
place for me
to find a spouse.
Some people come
to the church thinking
I'm a good conservative person,
whatever that means,
and I think people in church
are good conservative people.
They care about
the same family values
that I do
so I want to hang out
with those types of people.
And then there are
other people who think
those people in the church,
they're good liberal people.
They care about the poor
in the way that I care
about the poor
and I want to go hang out
with them
and I want to be
with those kinds of people.
And then there are people
who come to the church
and they're in the church
because this is what
they've always done
and this is their tradition.
This is how
they've always operated,
this is how they're going
to continue to operate
and they just come to church
because they come to church.
But for whatever reason,
they're there,
they're there for the snacks.
Now some of those things
aren't necessarily bad,
it's not wrong
to come to church
for community, right?
That's part of what we believe,
that we're the body of Christ
and we're here to support each other
and love each other.
Not necessarily a bad reason
to come
because you've always done it.
Hopefully you're doing it
for more than that.
But we as a church,
we are not here
for the snacks.
We are here
because we live
in a world
that's filled with evil
because of our sin
and God has offered us
a way of redemption
through the judgment
of his son
who he poured out
the judgment
that we deserved
so that we could
experience salvation
and he's called us
to be a people
who witnesses that
to the world.
That is why
we are here.
And I am not here
for the snacks.
I did not move
from the East Coast
because I get really jazzed
about paying off mortgages
or because I get really jazzed
about what type of coffee
we have.
That is too small
a thing.
Now those things
aren't bad things,
they're not wrong things,
right?
But I'm here
because God longs
for his people
to know his word
and because God
has called a people
to himself
and he's given them
a mission.
He has commanded us
to be a light
to the nation
so that when people
look around
they could see
what it is
that happens
when God's people
walk in God's ways
and he's given us
a mission
that we would go
and make disciples
of all nations
baptizing them
in the name
of the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
teaching them
everything that Jesus
commanded
and that we would
live out
what Jesus called
so that we would
be in a world
that's filled
with God's love
and his mercy
and his goodness
and his justice.
We are not here
for the snacks.
We are here
because God
is calling a people
to himself
redeemed
through the blood
of his Son
who suffered
in our place.
You might be wondering
what does any of that
have to do
with joy
in suffering?
People come to church
and are part of the community
for many reasons.
Sometimes it's for God
and his mission
and sometimes it's not.
Peter writes to encourage
these people
in verses 6 and 7
In other words
when you suffer
for the name
of Jesus Christ
it demonstrates
and shows
to you
and to the world
that you are not here
for the snacks
because the snacks
have disappeared.
There is nothing
comfortable
or convenient
about being a Christian
for the recipients
of this letter
in modern day Turkey
in the first century.
They are facing
many trials
and yet
they have remained
faithful
to God.
He is telling them
your faith
it is genuine
and tested.
It has been proven
to be real faith.
Verse 7
You can now know
more than you've
ever known before
how much
God is your Father
and you belong to Him.
This is the proof
in the pudding
of your faith.
If you had any doubts
about it before
you can now know
how much
you belong to God.
How much
as we saw last week
that His power
is working through
your faith.
So why is it
that these people
find joy
in their sufferings?
It's because
Peter is telling them
you are suffering
because God
is your Father
and you can now
know more
than you did before
how much
you belong to Him.
You can now
know with more
confidence
than you had
in the past
that you
belong to God.
And so even
as you face
trials and sufferings
you can find joy
because it shows
how much
and how secure
your faith is.
Not that it rests
on your faith
but this confirms
your faith.
It shows to you
and everyone else.
It shows to the world
that you're not here
you're not a Christian
you're not in the church
because of the things
that you can get
or gain
but you're here
because of Jesus.
And so that's
what fills
Peter with joy
and it's what fills
these people
with joy
as well.
They can have confidence
that they belong
to God
more confidence
than they've had
in the past.
He tells them
that there
he gives his own
illustration here
in verse 7
so that the tested
genuineness of your faith
more precious than gold
that perishes
though it is tested
by fire.
He's using an image
here of gold.
Gold is something
you're being tested
right?
You're facing
opposition
for your faith.
Gold is also tested.
Gold is really valuable.
Guess what?
Your faith
is even more valuable.
Gold
can be tested
tested by fire
but gold
can also be destroyed
by fire
as well.
Think about
Frodo's ring
for example.
On the one hand
incredibly resilient
on the other hand
it can be destroyed.
Your faith
cannot
be destroyed.
You think about
gold being tested?
How much more
does this show
the value
of your faith?
How much
more hope
and confidence
and trust
can you have
since your faith
is even more
resilient
and valuable
than gold?
Even gold
that perishes
your faith
will not.
Instead
your faith
is going to be
found to result
in praise
and glory
and honor
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
And this image
here is probably
something like
you've been separated
from someone
for a long time
and both of you
have been on adventures
doing things
and you come together
and you're able
to share
and praise each other
for the things
that you've done well.
There's a sense
in which we hear
in Matthew 25
that God's going
to tell those
who are faithful
to him
well done
good and faithful servant.
That's the language
of verse 7 here.
It may be found
to result in
praise and glory
and honor
in other words
found to result
in God saying
to you
well done
good and faithful servant.
when?
At the coming
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ
in other words
at Jesus'
second coming.
These people
can find joy
in suffering
because it's suffering
that proves
that they belong
to God
and it's suffering
that proves
that their faith
in God
is real.
It doesn't make
their faith real.
We don't need
to be seeking
out suffering.
We don't need
to try to
find persecution
but when we face it
God uses it
to confirm
that we belong
to him.
He uses it
to assure us
and reassure us
that we are his
and so that's why
these people
in this letter
are able to find
joy in their suffering.
Peter by the way
found the same kind
of joy in his suffering.
We're told a story
in Acts chapter 5.
Peter after Jesus
has left
he's going around
and preaching
and teaching
he's in Jerusalem
healing people
and the high priests
arrest him
because they're not
thrilled with him
going and telling
people about Jesus
and healing in his name
and if you know
the story
Peter gets out
of prison
there's an angel
who lets them out
and they find him
again and they beat him.
This is in Acts chapter 5
and after they beat Peter
do you remember
what he does
and what they do
when they leave?
Peter and his friends
leave rejoicing.
Peter and his friends
because they were
counted worthy
to suffer
for the name
of Jesus Christ.
And so as I've been
emphasizing in the other
portions of Peter
Peter writes here
to people about
what he has
personally experienced
and knows.
Peter knows
what it's like
to find joy
in suffering.
He knows
what it's like
to understand
and see
how real
his faith is
to have it
confirmed to him
because of what he faces
for the name
of Jesus.
And so sufferings
in the present
bring joy
because they confirm
everything that we've seen
in the previous verses.
They confirm
what we have
in the future.
That the glory
of the future
belongs to us.
Praise and glory
and honor
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ
verse 7.
And so what Peter
has to tell us here
it's not
there's nothing
really complicated
about it
or sophisticated
about it.
It's really
that simple.
You're going to
suffer in this world.
You're going to suffer
because you've been
chosen by God
and because you've
been chosen by God
you're in exile.
You're going to be
out of place
in this world
and its customs
and its ways
and its traditions
and its beliefs.
And that's going
to lead to trials.
When you face
those trials
you're going to stand
and continue
to face them.
You're not going
to leave
because you weren't
there for the snacks.
You were there
for Jesus.
And as you walk
through them
it's going to confirm
your hope
and your trust
and your faith
in him
and you're going
to find joy
because you're
going to know
more than ever
before how much
he's your father
and how much
you belong to him.
And then Peter
piles on another
piece of encouragement.
Remember Peter's
encouraging and instructing
and his goal
here at the beginning
is just to lay
on encouragement
for these people
who are facing
suffering for Jesus.
Verse 8
Though you have not
seen him
you love him.
Though you do not
now see him
you believe in him
and rejoice with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory
obtaining the outcome
of your faith
the salvation
of your souls.
And as Peter's
writing this
of course he's aware
of the story
of Thomas.
You remember
at the very end
of the Gospel of John
we have Thomas
who's a follower
of Jesus
and he hears
the word
that Jesus
has risen
from the dead
and he doesn't
want to believe it.
And I'm going to
read it to you
just a little bit
from John
chapter 20
verse 24
it says
Now Thomas
one of the twelve
was not with them
when Jesus came
so the other disciples
told him
we have seen the Lord
but he said to them
unless I see in his hands
the mark of the nails
and place my finger
into the mark of the nails
and place my hand
into his side
I will never believe.
Eight days later
his disciples
were inside again
and Thomas was with them
although the doors
were locked
Jesus came
and stood among them
and said
peace be with you.
Then he said to Thomas
put your finger here
and see my hands
and put out your hand
and place it in my side
do not disbelieve
but believe.
Thomas answered him
my Lord and my God
and Jesus said to him
have you believed
because you have seen me?
Blessed are those
who have not seen
and yet have believed.
Blessed are those
who have not seen
and yet have believed.
Peter knows
that unlike him
who walked with Jesus
and lived with Jesus
these people did not.
and yet their faithfulness
in suffering
proves that even though
they haven't seen Jesus
they love him.
The same faith
that's proved
by their suffering
is the faith
that they experience.
You believe in him
that's a faith word
and you rejoice
with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory
obtaining the outcome
of your faith
the salvation
of your souls.
In other words
these people have joy
not just because
their faith is confirmed
but because of
what it confirms.
Not just that it confirms
that they belong to Jesus
but everything that comes to them
the inheritance
that we talked about
last week
that it's looking to that
in the future
as it's confirmed
in the present
that allows them
to rejoice
in their sufferings
rejoicing for their sufferings
for the name
of Jesus Christ.
If you follow the news
you know there was
an article that came out
in May
of this year
about a man named
Jordan Hubber
and
Jordan
did not know
who his father was
but he knew
an English aristocrat
who he suspected
was his father
and he tried
to prove this
for a long time
unsuccessfully
until this man died
and he decided
he was going to be able
to do a DNA test.
Now Jordan was working class
he was struggling
to make things work
from week to week
financially
he wasn't doing well
and this was his last shot
to be able to do
this DNA test
to figure out
whether or not
this man
who had just died
was his father
and it came back
and there was
100% positive proof
that this man
he believed
was his father
and so Jordan
got to move in
to this 1500 acre
estate in London
which was worth
over 50 million pounds
and then on top
of that
received an allowance
of I believe
1000 pounds a week.
Jordan
because this man
was his father
received the full
inheritance
and it was the DNA
test that he went
through that proved
that he was the son
who belonged
to this man.
Brothers and sisters
Peter is telling us
that when we suffer
for the name
of Jesus Christ
it is the DNA test
that proves
definitively
that we belong
to God
and so we rejoice
first
that we belong
to him
and then second
because that's true
the full
inheritance
is ours
and so that's why
we find joy
in our suffering
for the name
of Christ
because we experience
that salvation
now in part
and we will experience
it in full
verse 8
though you have not
seen him
you love him
though you do not
now see him
you believe in him
and rejoice
with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory
obtaining the outcome
of your faith
the salvation
of your souls
please pray with me
Father in heaven
we thank you
that you've chosen us
and we belong to you
we thank you
that you have
a mission
for your church
and you want us
to be a part of it
and we confess
that that mission
involves trials
in this life
for your name
and we thank you
that you use that
to bring us joy
we ask that that
would become more
and more real
in our lives
that as we face
opposition
because of our faith
in you
that it would cause us
to rejoice
knowing even more
how much we belong
to you
and looking forward
to the inheritance
that is ours
we ask these things
not because
we have earned them
but because Jesus
is our older brother
and it's his inheritance
that comes to us
and so we ask it
in his name
amen