WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.780 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:11.780 --> 00:01:15.219 For a moment, let's bow our heads in prayer. Father, 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:24.840 Father, you know how there are times when we have a sense that we could maybe say something about 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:31.400 Christianity or the gospel or our hope, but we know that if we say something, or we have a sense 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:38.920 if we say something, it'll hurt our reputation or people might laugh at us or make jokes about us. 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:43.560 And so, Father, you know those times when we have those opportunities and we turn away from doing 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:49.719 it because we don't want to be mocked. We don't want to be thought of as fools. We don't want to 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:56.240 be thought of as bad people. And Father, we're so thankful that you know our heart. You know the 00:01:56.240 --> 00:02:01.760 problems that we have and the things that we're tempted to do and the things that we're tempted to 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:07.640 avoid that we should do. So, Father, we praise you. We're grateful for your profound knowledge of 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:13.360 each of us. And we give you thanks and praise that your word speaks to the real us in our real world 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:20.340 and our real situation. And we ask, Father, that you tune our hearts this morning to hear your word 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:26.120 and to receive the healthy music, the healthy food that you desire to give us this morning, 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:31.920 that we might be free, that we might do good, that we might bring you glory. And we ask these things 00:02:31.920 --> 00:02:36.240 in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:44.239 So, a couple of weeks ago in one of the coffee shops which I frequent where I'm a regular, 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:50.059 within a day of each other, I had two very interesting conversations. The first one was 00:02:50.059 --> 00:02:55.319 with this fellow. I'll call him Andy. I have to watch. I don't say his name out loud in public 00:02:55.319 --> 00:03:01.239 by accident, but we'll call him Andy. There happened to be a bigger lineup to order a coffee. And so, 00:03:01.339 --> 00:03:06.060 I was in front of him and we got chatting and I just said, oh, by the way, are you an Ottawa boy? 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:10.140 I was just making conversation. And he said, yeah. And I said, oh, where'd you go to high school? 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:14.039 And he told me where he went to high school and he asked me where I went to high school because I did 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:21.979 grade 10 and up. Here in Ottawa, I did earlier grades in Montreal, actually in Laval, a Jewish 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:29.020 suburb, actually, of Montreal. And then he just asked me a little bit about high school and I asked him 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:36.640 about it. And then he really, his whole face and demeanor changed. He said to me, he didn't like 00:03:36.640 --> 00:03:43.100 high school. And then he said, I was terribly bullied. I was terribly bullied all the way through 00:03:43.100 --> 00:03:48.780 high school. And it's really, you could, I mean, this is 40 years ago, probably, guessing his age, 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:55.379 but 40 some odd years ago. And when he said it, you could still really see that it had impacted him 00:03:55.379 --> 00:04:01.599 and affected him. And all I could say was, that must be so hard. Like, I didn't know what else to say. 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:08.340 And then it was my time to order the coffee and he, and I'll talk to him again because I see him all 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:15.280 the time. Then about a day or two later, I talked to another fellow who was a regular and he just 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:20.019 making some chit chat. And he asked me if I grew up in Ottawa. And I asked him about where he went to 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:24.899 high school, where I went to high school. Turns out we probably overlapped by a couple of years. 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:30.000 And he was in sort of the rival school closest to the high school that I went to. And for some reason, 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:34.259 he wouldn't have known that I just had this conversation a day or two earlier with this 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:37.779 fellow. He wasn't even in the coffee shop at that time. And he doesn't know that fellow, in fact, 00:04:38.099 --> 00:04:41.519 to my knowledge. And all of a sudden, he just said, you know what, you know, one of the things about 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:45.799 high school that I look back on now as I'm older, because he's probably about my age. 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:51.139 And he said, I realized there was a lot of bullying that went on in my high school. Now, 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.620 the two guys didn't go to the same high school, just in case you're wondering. But he said there 00:04:54.620 --> 00:05:00.000 was a lot of bullying in the high school that I grew up in. And, you know, at the time, I thought, 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:07.139 oh, well, the bullying's not that bad. It's just words. Not much physical, just words. But now that 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:12.240 I'm older, I realized that that was actually probably way worse for people. Like, it's just like a really 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:18.800 random thing for him to say, that it was probably way worse, the words, the insults that we give to 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:23.879 people. And I didn't ask him, but the way he said it made me wonder if he'd been one of the bullies 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:30.780 that, in fact, had been doing those things. I mention all of this because the Bible's going 00:05:30.780 --> 00:05:36.120 to talk about the problem of insults this morning. And it's going to talk about the problem of suffering, 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:44.180 suffering, but suffering in particular in the context of insults. And this is actually like a, 00:05:44.340 --> 00:05:48.660 this is, I mean, all the texts in the Bible are very important, but this is very important because 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:54.920 so many of us struggle with insults. I would, I wonder sometimes if one of the reasons that people 00:05:54.920 --> 00:06:00.939 walk away from the Christian faith is because they'd rather avoid insults. And I wonder sometimes 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:05.160 if one of the reasons why people don't want to actually take the step of becoming a Christian is 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:11.000 because they're worried about how their friends and family and coworkers will see them if they 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:18.800 become a Christian. That there's, because in Canada, we really value trying to figure out a way of life 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:24.540 where you never suffer. Like, in fact, if you were to ask Christian, many Canadians, is one of your goals 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:29.420 in life to never suffer? I think most people would say, yeah, that's, that'd be one of my goals. One of my 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:34.520 goals in life is to never suffer. So let's look. We're going to look and see what the Bible says. 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:39.879 The Bible walks right towards this issue, and I think it has great wisdom. It's, it's, it's, it's 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:48.919 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 12 to 19. 1 Peter 4, 12 to 19. And actually, one of the things, I'm going 00:06:48.919 --> 00:06:53.180 to begin with the end. So sorry about that, Claire. I'm going to go to verse 19 first, and then go to 00:06:53.180 --> 00:07:01.060 12 to 12 and then, and then come down. This isn't the summary of all of what Peter's talked about. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:04.980 He's talked about suffering a fair bit. There's going to be an important bit to the last little 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:12.460 bit of a first Peter. But this is a really important summary statement. And I, I actually, I want to 00:07:12.460 --> 00:07:15.920 share it with you first, then we'll go back and we'll look at insults and all the things to do with 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:21.640 suffering. But I just think it's such a, such a beautiful verse. If you would put it up on the 00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:29.480 screen, it's verse 19. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:36.379 to a faithful creator while doing good. And I'll, I'll hopefully mention it again. The word which is 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:43.000 translated there is entrust. Some of your Bibles will use the word commit. But if you look and you, 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:49.100 you try to figure out the last words that Jesus said on the cross, of course, the second to last 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:55.600 word is it is finished. And then the very last thing is he says into your hands, Father, I commend 00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:00.519 my spirit. I commit my spirit. And that word commend or commit is the same word as entrust. 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:06.199 So you have to wonder, that would have been something because there were women, and then a lot of other 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:11.620 people who observed the crucifixion would have later become Christians. And you have to wonder if, 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:16.620 if even as Peter was writing this, if there's a bit of a catch in his mouth, a little bit of a catch 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:22.280 in his heart, to see, to recommend this, that this is what Jesus did as he's dying on the cross. 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:30.660 But what's so beautiful? I don't, I don't know how people can go through hard times in life if there 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:36.299 isn't a God that they can pour out their hearts to. I mean, if you get nothing else from my sermon, 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:42.439 I mean, that's just it. Are there challenges to being a Christian? Are there, is there a cost to 00:08:42.439 --> 00:08:50.919 being a Christian? Yes, yes, yes. But I don't know how you can go through life without having 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:58.319 a God who really is there, not just imaginary, but really is there, that you can be reconciled to, 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:04.100 and you can pour out your heart to, and that you know that he loves you, that he doesn't crush you. 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:10.080 I, this week, did I write down her name? I hope I wrote down her name, because I can never pronounce 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:15.960 it, and I apologize if I mispronounce it, but there's this organization in England called Unherd, 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:24.220 U-N-H-E-R-D, and it's, it's, it publishes articles for those who don't want to think like the herd. 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:29.720 So it's trying to unherd you, so you don't think like the herd. Anyway, they published, 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:36.680 they put out a debate or a conversation this, a week or two ago in New York City between Christopher 00:09:36.680 --> 00:09:45.240 Dawkins, who's a legendary atheist, and, and here's, where's her name? Iann Hersey Ali. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:51.360 And some of you might have heard of, of her. You might have heard, you know, some of you might 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:56.960 remember about 15 years ago, there was a Dutch filmmaker stabbed to death, I think in the streets 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:03.960 of Amsterdam, and he was stabbed to death because he was making a, a video that was critical of, of, 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:11.639 of Islam, and the, the person who starred in the video was, was Iann Hersey Ali, and she had to, 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.220 to, to be in hiding for quite a while because of multiple death threats to her. 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:22.120 But she grew up a fundamentalist Muslim. She became, renounced all of that, became an 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:28.919 outspoken atheist, a social commentator, a best-selling author, public intellectual, 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:34.740 close friend of all of the, the leading atheist writers, including Christopher Dawkins. 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:40.299 And about a year ago, she shocked everybody in Unheard of saying she'd become a Christian. 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:45.519 And there's been a lot of talk about whether it was a real conversion or whatever. Anyway, 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:50.019 there was this conversation that she had in New York City just a week or two ago, you can see it 00:10:50.019 --> 00:10:55.699 on the YouTube of Christopher Dawkins and her having a conversation. And one of the things that he says 00:10:55.699 --> 00:11:06.899 to her is that Christianity is obsessed with sin. And without missing a beat, she said, 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:13.779 that's not how I read the Bible. When I read the Bible, it's obsessed with love. 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:23.299 It's obsessed with love. And they go on and have a bit of a conversation about that. And it's a very 00:11:23.299 --> 00:11:30.179 perceptive thing, I think, to, to see. So anyway, we have this, I don't know how you, 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:39.199 how you can endure suffering if there isn't a God who really is there. And it's the God that is revealed 00:11:39.199 --> 00:11:48.539 in the person of Jesus. And it's a God who is obsessed with love. So that you can pour out your 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:55.620 heart when you're having really hard times, knowing that he'll hear you and not crush you. 00:11:55.620 --> 00:12:02.159 He'll hear you and not diminish you. He'll hear you and not hate you. I don't know how you can live 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:09.419 without that. But let's get to this verse. If you go back to me with verse 12, it begins with something 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:17.139 which is very off-putting to Canadians. Look at verse 12 of chapter 4. Beloved, do not be surprised 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:24.019 at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:32.740 you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you all, that you may also rejoice 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:39.879 and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you were insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:47.240 because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Now just pause here. Lots of interesting things 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:51.460 here, but here's the part that would be very off-putting to a lot of Canadians. It says this, 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:59.960 Beloved, verse 12, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:07.800 as though something strange were happening to you. Now that's the part which is off-putting. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:14.800 What he's saying is, if you are a Christian and if you have committed your life to Christ and you are 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:22.539 trying to follow him, there will inevitably be times when people insult you, when people think less of 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:27.639 you. It might mean you don't get the promotion, you don't get invited to the parties or the dinner 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:35.299 parties. It will cost you. And that's not strange. It's not a bug that has to be fixed. 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:42.759 And this is going to explain in a moment. It's in a sense a design feature of the whole Christian, 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:48.740 what it means to, why Christ came and why he died and why he rose again and what he calls us to. 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:54.759 Now, for a lot of Canadians to hear this, you'd say, 00:13:54.759 --> 00:14:02.500 Okay, George, you just gave me one more reason not to be a Christian. Like, George, don't you think 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:08.220 the goal of life should be to suffer as little as possible? And you're saying that if you become 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:13.639 a follower of Jesus, there are going to be times when people insult you and belittle you and scorn you? 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:22.080 Like, George, really? That's what you want to tell me? Like, why would anybody become a Christian? 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:26.940 Like, surely, George, you agree that the goal of life should be to avoid suffering. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:35.720 And in fact, in this way, Buddhism and much of its Eastern religions and secular thought all agree. 00:14:36.420 --> 00:14:41.560 They have different types of techniques, although Canadian secular thought is quite happy to borrow 00:14:41.560 --> 00:14:46.879 different techniques from Buddhism and Hinduism and turn them into a type of a therapy 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:53.799 and a self-help type of thing, all of them to avoid suffering because most Canadians agree that 00:14:53.799 --> 00:15:01.019 the goal of life is to have as little suffering as possible because suffering is inherently meaningless. 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:05.939 Suffering is inherently meaningless and bad. 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:12.360 Now, there's a problem with this which is not reflected upon very much by the average Canadian 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:17.460 or people throughout the world. Some of you have heard me share how a few years ago there was a 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:24.100 well-known actress who, she was asked if there was one thing she had, like, a godlike power to change 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:30.680 one thing in the world, what would it be? And what she said is if she had godlike power to change one 00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:38.840 thing in the world, she would get rid of guilt. Nobody would feel guilt. And as I've shared before, 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:43.480 maybe you're hearing it for the first time, I don't expect you to remember everything I say. I couldn't 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:48.700 tell you how long ago I said it or anything. But the person doing the interview obviously thought this 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:52.899 was a piece of wisdom that would be, oh, okay, she said that, let's write that down. That's a keeper. 00:15:53.420 --> 00:15:59.200 That's something I want to remember. But the unintended consequence of her advice is she just wished 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:08.420 that all human beings become sociopaths and psychopaths. Because what characterizes sociopaths 00:16:08.420 --> 00:16:12.879 and psychopaths, the definition of the two of them is a bit fluid, might be one or the other, 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:22.480 depends how you work it, is a person who feels no guilt. Now, in fact, when I immediately read it, 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:26.420 when I read it, I immediately thought of that. She just wishes that she was a sociopath or a psychopath. 00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:31.599 Like, does she realize? Does the newspaper writer thinking this is a real wise thing I want to 00:16:31.599 --> 00:16:36.399 write down just realize that if he wishes that he never experiences guilt again, that he's actually 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:42.919 wishing that he becomes a sociopath or a psychopath? We could add that now to a raging narcissist who 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:48.599 don't seem to feel any guilt no matter how bad they treat others. Really? That's your goal in life? 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:52.779 So how does this fit with suffering? Well, there's a very, very simple analogy there, 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:57.879 which is exactly the same, which is that if that is actually the goal of you as a Canadian, 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:04.619 or somebody else, to live a guilt-free life, you've just become the people in the stories that 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:11.960 everybody hates, that nobody wants to be. Now, it depends on whether the types of novels or movies 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:17.920 that you like to watch. I often like police novels or private detective things, you know, 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:22.320 where there's a death or a robbery or some great tragedy and people are trying to be rescued, 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:28.000 et cetera, et cetera. But one of the enduring themes in books and movies like that, you read the John 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:34.900 Sanford Prey novels, you read the Michael Connolly Prey, Michael Connolly Bosch novels, I could go on 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:41.039 and on and on. You read the Joe Pickett novels, great novel series of a game warden in Wyoming, 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:47.159 if you've not read them by C.J. Box. But in all of these things, what characterizes the hero 00:17:47.159 --> 00:17:55.220 is that he is obsessed, maybe that's too strong a word, but he is deeply committed to doing what is 00:17:55.220 --> 00:18:01.720 right, to making sure there's justice. And not only does he, of course, have to deal with, 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:07.319 and I could also do the Sue Grafton, Kinsey Mulholland novels, to have a woman author in there, 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:12.319 a woman hero. So it's not just that they're all men heroes, it's the same thing with her novels. 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:18.039 And in all of these cases, not only do they have to deal with the people who've done wrong 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:24.279 and try to capture them and try to figure out, like, who the guilty person is and bring them 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:34.179 to justice, but they also have to deal with the time servers, bean counters, who don't give a hoot 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:44.080 about this. They have to fight the bureaucrats and the people who only want the thing to go away 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:50.660 and don't really care if it ends up being, if the right person is captured or the wrong person is 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:55.299 captured. They want to be able to do their day, they want to be able to go home, they want to have no 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:59.500 suffering, they want to have no bother, they don't want the paperwork, they don't want any of that type 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:05.799 of things. And so these heroes are trying to not only pursue that which is right and good and just, 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:12.900 but they're also having to deal with this bureaucracy and often captains and others and politicians 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:23.400 who just want to have a problem-free, suffering-free life. And let me tell you, I can't imagine that 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:31.320 anybody reads those novels and say, dang, I'd like to be that boss. I'd like to be the person who has no 00:19:31.320 --> 00:19:37.740 concern for justice. I'd like to be that person. I'd like to be that person who's just, you know, whatever, 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:43.120 don't do it, too much bother, who cares, I just want to go home and, and I don't know, watch Netflix. 00:19:43.280 --> 00:19:48.720 Like, nobody wants to be that person who reads those novels or watches those movies. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:55.900 But if your philosophy and theology of life is one, that it's going to be a life which has as little 00:19:55.900 --> 00:20:00.900 suffering as possible, you've just wished that you've become the one in the books that nobody wants 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:09.339 to be. You see, this is what, this is why, like, if you remember verse 19, that, you know, at the end 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:14.500 of the day, we need to entrust or commit ourselves, our very selves, at a very deep level into the hands 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:20.599 of a faithful creator and continue to do good, is that as we've seen over previous weeks, what the 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:31.319 Bible is saying this is, if you desire to live a life which is committed to doing good, is committed 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:39.480 to doing justice, is committed to mercy, is committed to compassion, is committed to generosity, is committed 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:45.400 to forgiveness. If you are committed to do those things, you will be insulted. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:57.400 And people will not, will look down their nose at you, and you will run into trouble. It is inevitable. 00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:04.400 And so the Bible is casting before us, at the end of the day, a far more beautiful vision, 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:10.360 and in our, and if, if the average person is honest, on one hand, they, they wish there was a way of pursuing 00:21:10.360 --> 00:21:14.820 that vision, where they're never going to be insulted, they're never going to be looked down upon, or anything 00:21:14.820 --> 00:21:20.800 like that, but at the end of the day, that's really, most people would say, do you, do you want to just be a, 00:21:20.860 --> 00:21:24.700 is your goal in life to be a Netflix-watching, couch-sitting, 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:28.460 bean counter, or is your goal in life 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:32.840 to be committed to doing that which is good, and true and just. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:34.680 And at least at a surface level, 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:36.559 we'd know that's what we want to be. That's the second one's 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:37.319 what we want to be. 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:40.680 And that's really what the Bible is just saying. 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:42.840 When it says in verse 12, 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:44.900 do not be surprised at the firing trial 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:46.700 that comes upon you to test you as though 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.220 something strange were happening to you. 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:50.620 It's just saying, listen, if you're committed 00:21:50.620 --> 00:21:52.079 to doing that which is good, 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:54.720 and in particular here as Christians, because it's 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:56.720 not just that you're doing good, but that part of 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:58.980 doing good for us as Christians is to tell 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:00.079 the world, 00:22:01.860 --> 00:22:02.940 death doesn't win. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:08.759 There is a God, 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:10.900 and that God 00:22:10.900 --> 00:22:12.259 is a God of love. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.860 From all eternity, the Father has loved 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:16.500 the Son, and the Son has loved the Father, 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.720 and the Holy Spirit has loved the Father, 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:20.620 and the Son, and from all eternity, 00:22:20.620 --> 00:22:22.839 there is a God of love who loves you and loves you 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:24.920 so much that in real 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:26.600 life, not just a 00:22:26.600 --> 00:22:28.779 once upon a time story, not a 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:30.600 Santa Claus story, not 00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:32.820 a work of fiction, not a work of 00:22:32.820 --> 00:22:34.759 mythology, but in real life, this 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:36.300 God who really does exist, 00:22:36.800 --> 00:22:38.200 who really is a God of love, 00:22:38.600 --> 00:22:40.519 seeing our desperate 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:42.660 need and our inability to fix 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:44.360 ourselves or save ourselves, 00:22:44.860 --> 00:22:46.779 sent his Son to live amongst 00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:48.940 us, to ultimately die 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:50.779 on the cross for us, to be the 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:52.660 one who can reconcile us to him, 00:22:52.660 --> 00:22:54.740 and this is news for 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:55.100 you. 00:22:57.660 --> 00:22:58.740 It's news for you. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:02.519 And our hope and prayer is that you will say 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:02.840 yes. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:07.040 That's 00:23:07.040 --> 00:23:10.560 sounds too good to be true. Well, it's not too 00:23:10.560 --> 00:23:11.940 good to be true. It's actually true. 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:14.380 Not too good to be true. It's actually true, 00:23:14.460 --> 00:23:16.000 and it can be true for you, and that's, 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:18.279 and if that means that we get insulted, we get 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:18.700 insulted. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.399 Now, one of 00:23:22.399 --> 00:23:24.299 the problems that 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:26.139 lurks in our culture 00:23:26.139 --> 00:23:27.740 is the problem of meaninglessness, 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:30.279 and most of 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:32.119 Canadian culture deals with 00:23:32.119 --> 00:23:34.359 meaninglessness by 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:35.079 distraction. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:38.000 You don't have to think about 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.420 the problems of death and suffering 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:42.200 and meaninglessness if you can just get 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:44.200 lost in TikTok, or just get lost 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:46.279 in Netflix, or get lost in books, or 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:48.899 get lost in alcohol, or drugs, or some 00:23:48.899 --> 00:23:49.759 other type of thing. 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:52.700 Other types of more sophisticated 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:54.180 ways to practice 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:58.619 distraction. 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:02.599 But, you know, 00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:04.440 when it says here, verse 13, 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.259 but rejoice insofar as you share 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:07.980 Christ's sufferings, that you may also 00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:09.799 rejoice and be glad when his glory is 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.119 revealed. What this is telling us 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:13.479 is this, that, 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:16.379 I mean, in fact, as I've 00:24:16.379 --> 00:24:17.959 shared before many, many times, 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:19.699 the Christian life begins when you 00:24:19.699 --> 00:24:21.139 either make a conscious decision 00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:22.799 around this, or you realize that you 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:24.779 have made a decision around this 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:26.299 at some point in time in your life, 00:24:26.899 --> 00:24:28.099 that you, in a sense, 00:24:28.219 --> 00:24:29.799 give your life to Christ, 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:31.619 and you want to, you say, Jesus, 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:33.599 I believe that you're my Savior, 00:24:33.719 --> 00:24:35.079 I want you to be my Savior, 00:24:35.239 --> 00:24:37.599 I come to you, please come to me, 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:39.459 please come into me and be my Savior 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:41.420 and my Lord. And when we have 00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:43.279 that, maybe not with those 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:44.799 words, but we realize at some 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.059 point in time, either we use those 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:47.380 words or something like it, or we 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:48.620 came to realize that at some 00:24:48.620 --> 00:24:50.079 point in time in our journey of 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.420 life, that that's happened in us. 00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:55.559 And the wonderful thing is that 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:57.579 Christ actually does come in. 00:24:58.340 --> 00:24:59.940 And the Bible describes this 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:01.440 wonderful thing that on one hand 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.220 you can describe becoming a 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.160 Christian as Christ, and in fact, 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:06.460 God the Father and the Holy Spirit 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:08.420 entering into you. And in another 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:09.980 way you can understand it as 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:12.860 entering into Christ. And so that 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:16.140 in some ways then, Christ's story 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:18.279 becomes yours. Not that you died to 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.300 save anybody, but that you've 00:25:20.300 --> 00:25:22.259 entered him, and so the saving 00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:24.920 thing that he did on his life, 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:26.519 sinless life and death upon the 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:28.400 cross, and tasting all there is to 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:29.900 taste of death, and his 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:31.400 resurrection, when you put your 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.580 faith and trust in the risen Christ, 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:35.600 that whole history of Christ and what 00:25:35.600 --> 00:25:37.380 he did on earth, and in some ways 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:39.800 becomes yours. You identify with him, 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:42.760 and because he rose, it's because 00:25:42.760 --> 00:25:45.460 you are in him that he rose, you will 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:47.760 rise, and death is not the final word 00:25:47.760 --> 00:25:49.540 about you, and that's the wonder of 00:25:49.540 --> 00:25:52.460 the gospel. And what Peter is saying 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:53.960 here is that it's not just this 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:56.360 mystical union that you have with 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:58.620 Christ, which is unbelievably precious, 00:25:58.620 --> 00:26:00.720 but the story itself is precious. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:07.920 Because, you see, if you understand that 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:12.120 the story is your story now, and you 00:26:12.120 --> 00:26:14.720 remember and understand the ending of 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:17.500 that story, and then you understand as 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:20.240 that story becomes more real to you, and 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:21.920 the ending of the story becomes more 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:24.720 real to you, it changes the story of the 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:26.720 life that you've lived up until now, and 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:29.680 the life you're living right now. Because 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.720 the end of the story changes everything 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:35.660 in the story. Like a very, very simple 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:37.759 example would be if you, sorry for those 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:39.319 of you who've never read or watched the 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:40.860 Lord of the Rings, but if you've read or 00:26:40.860 --> 00:26:42.680 watched the Lord of the Rings, it's all 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:45.019 about this quest to defeat this profoundly 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:47.019 evil power that's going to overwhelm the 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:50.220 entire world, and there's a connection 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:51.940 that if you were able to destroy this 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:54.319 ring that's sort of like the repository or 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.779 the link to his power, if you can destroy 00:26:56.779 --> 00:26:59.099 in a particular mountain, it will bring an 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:02.859 end to this unbelievably evil creature and 00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:04.439 all the evil and destruction that he's 00:27:04.439 --> 00:27:06.200 brought into the world. And the Lord of 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:08.200 the Rings is a story of this quest by 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.359 this little hobbit to be the one who's 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:13.319 going to actually have to put the ring in 00:27:13.899 --> 00:27:17.339 this particular fire, and he suffers, and 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:21.339 there's death, and he has trial and trial 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:24.519 and trial. But if at the very, very end he 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:26.839 comes to the edge and he isn't able to 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:30.500 throw it in, well in fact there's nobody 00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:34.519 would have ever read that story. Like maybe 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:36.619 it would have been read by five university 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:39.559 professors and one PhD student looking for 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:43.079 a dissertation. The whole story, when he 00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:45.139 throws the ring into the fire at the end, 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:49.019 spoiler alert, and evil is destroyed, all of 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:50.920 the suffering of his life takes on a very 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:52.519 different meaning. It was still suffering. 00:27:54.379 --> 00:27:56.579 He still was parched. He still was beaten. 00:27:56.859 --> 00:27:58.900 He still, all those things still happened 00:27:58.900 --> 00:28:00.339 to him, but everything in the story is 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:03.400 completely and utterly transformed. So when 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:05.200 Peter is saying here, you think about the 00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:06.980 gospel, the thing which is so wonderful 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:08.839 about the gospel is that on one hand the 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:11.599 gospel is true. Jesus really did die on 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:13.839 the cross. It's true because Jesus really 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:16.279 did taste all there is to taste of death. It's 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:18.160 true because he really did rise from the 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:19.660 death. All of these things are completely 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:22.660 and utterly true, but it's also a story 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:25.259 that doesn't crush you, that ennobles you. 00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:31.100 For much of the world and for much of time, 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:34.140 there's some variation of the karma story 00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:36.300 that you live in. And the thing about 00:28:36.300 --> 00:28:40.660 karma is that if you are suffering, you 00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:44.200 deserve it. In a sense, if I see you 00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:47.319 suffering, all I can say to you is, sucks to 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:51.480 be you. I'm not suffering. My karma is 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:55.940 pretty good. It creates pride and it creates 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:59.900 despair. And it's very interesting that 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:02.200 even the goal of life of most Eastern 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:05.779 religions and secular Canadians is all 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:08.700 death. But if the end of all of our story 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:10.920 is death, how can your life have any type 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:13.300 of meaning? That's what's so wonderful and 00:29:13.300 --> 00:29:16.279 beautiful about the gospel. That God, the 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:19.980 Son of God, actually dies and death is not 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:22.680 the final word. There is a real resurrection 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:25.980 that happens. A resurrection that you and I 00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:28.660 can share in when we put our faith and 00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:30.779 trust in him. And the end of the human 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:34.620 story is not death. It's not nothingness. It 00:29:34.620 --> 00:29:36.720 is, in fact, that there will be a new heaven 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:39.140 and the new earth. And that's why in verse 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:42.720 19, Peter can say, you need to just 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.420 remember that you can entrust your hands to 00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:48.360 a faithful creator and commit yourself to 00:29:48.360 --> 00:29:51.539 doing good. And it's so wonderful. You can't 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:53.759 commit yourself to nothingness and therefore 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:56.460 do good. You can't commit yourself to 00:29:56.460 --> 00:30:00.120 meaningless death and therefore do good. Those 00:30:00.120 --> 00:30:05.620 things don't follow. There's nowhere to go and 00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:08.119 the story doesn't ennoble you. It doesn't 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:12.619 empower you. And Peter is just saying, be 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:18.119 gripped by this story. And we spent a long 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:21.619 time on the first bit. We'll start to wrap 00:30:21.619 --> 00:30:24.879 it up. On the way to the end, Peter has a 00:30:24.879 --> 00:30:27.279 very, very interesting aside which we need 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:29.119 to pay attention to. Let's look at his verse 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:32.519 15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer 00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:38.480 or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Now, 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:40.660 those are four very odd different types of 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:44.059 problems, aren't they? Like, okay, yeah, yeah. 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:46.099 Obviously, if you're suffering in jail because 00:30:46.099 --> 00:30:47.900 you murdered somebody, like, of course, like, 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:49.839 why shouldn't you do that, right? And, okay, 00:30:49.879 --> 00:30:51.740 like you were a thief, like you stole things 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:53.379 and now you're sort of suffering. People don't 00:30:53.379 --> 00:30:55.139 like you. They want to give you a job. You spent 00:30:55.139 --> 00:30:57.440 some time in jail. We can sort of say, understand 00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.599 that. An evildoer? Well, evildoer sounds 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:02.419 pretty strong and we could see that. And if 00:31:02.419 --> 00:31:04.099 somebody said, I'm a Christian, I'm suffering 00:31:04.099 --> 00:31:05.839 for being a Christian and, oh, by the way, I 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:08.139 murdered somebody, you say, well, maybe you're 00:31:08.139 --> 00:31:09.939 suffering in jail because you murdered somebody. 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:11.980 And then if somebody said, well, I'm Christian 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:14.359 and I'm suffering and the reason I'm suffering, 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.719 you know, is because I'm a Christian, but they 00:31:15.719 --> 00:31:17.419 said, no, no, actually, aren't you in jail 00:31:17.419 --> 00:31:19.419 because you robbed a bank? Like, that's not 00:31:19.419 --> 00:31:21.779 because you're a Christian. And then if even 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:23.699 somebody said, oh, no, I'm suffering for a 00:31:23.699 --> 00:31:25.439 Christian, but they said, no, don't you go 00:31:25.439 --> 00:31:27.399 around doing, like, these really, really terrible 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:29.460 evil things? Maybe you're suffering because you do 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:31.320 terrible, really evil things. It's not because 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:34.519 you're a Christian. But then he adds meddler. 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:41.700 Years ago, I was on a national leadership team 00:31:41.700 --> 00:31:43.880 and it was while I was still part of the 00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:46.500 Anglican Church of Canada. And we brought a 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:48.540 person onto our team who would have told 00:31:48.540 --> 00:31:50.259 everybody, had a reputation that he was 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:51.880 suffering for being a Christian in a very 00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:55.060 liberal diocese. And what we discovered was 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:59.259 this about him. This is how one person put it. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:05.539 He was a knit picker who left no knit unpicked. 00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:12.460 So we'd have a meeting and the minutes would 00:32:12.460 --> 00:32:16.279 come out. And I literally don't know what he 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:19.460 did with his time. Because within that first 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:22.440 week, we would get three emails a day about 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:24.740 the minutes. And then over the next week, it 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:26.860 would maybe go from down to two a day to down 00:32:26.860 --> 00:32:29.779 to one a day. And good grief, over two weeks, 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:32.460 we probably had at least 25 or 30 emails. 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:35.519 Every email was two to three thousand words 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:39.600 long. And then he'd get bothered when we 00:32:39.600 --> 00:32:41.860 didn't respond to them, which would create 00:32:41.860 --> 00:32:45.200 more emails. And so we got him off our 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:48.680 leadership team. Not because he's a Christian. 00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:54.019 I expect to see him in heaven. But because he 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:58.700 was a knit picker who left no knit unpicked, he 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:01.640 was a busybody and a meddler. And it's actually 00:33:01.640 --> 00:33:03.600 really good warning to us. You know, listen, 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:08.279 listen. You know, it's like at the last synod 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:12.120 that was in Ottawa. Somebody was just telling 00:33:12.120 --> 00:33:15.120 me this. You know, one of the coffee shops that I 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:18.479 go to regularly is right near St. Peter's and St. Paul's. 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:21.679 And somebody was telling me that one of the clergy 00:33:21.679 --> 00:33:24.859 went in there with his collar and all dressed up 00:33:24.859 --> 00:33:28.479 like a priest. And then he gave the barista a hard 00:33:28.479 --> 00:33:32.500 time for having a name tag that said they on it and 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:35.959 them. Okay, listen, you're not suffering for being a 00:33:35.959 --> 00:33:39.059 Christian. You're suffering for being a jerk. Okay? Like 00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:41.959 you're suffering for being a meddler in this 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:44.579 particular case. Like don't say you're doing anything 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:48.360 heroic. You're just being a busybody. Like just call 00:33:48.360 --> 00:33:50.680 them by their name. You know, if their name's Sue, call 00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:53.079 them Sue. You don't have to call them they. And you 00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:55.819 don't have to make a big show about it and look. You 00:33:55.819 --> 00:34:00.240 get the point. So just a good thing for us to take a 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.340 step back about in terms of there's going to be enough 00:34:03.340 --> 00:34:06.920 things that you, if you actually walk towards 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:10.420 opportunities to share the gospel, or if because of your 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:12.960 love of Jesus and your allegiance to the gospel, you're 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.280 going to do that which is right. Even if it means your 00:34:16.280 --> 00:34:19.079 whole team is mad at you, you want to do that which is 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:21.539 just, even though your whole team is mad at you. There's 00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:24.420 enough things like that that will lead you to being 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:27.579 insulted and put down. You don't need to add being a 00:34:27.579 --> 00:34:32.260 meddler. But now let's close. Let's look at the last few 00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:35.639 verses, 16 and following. Yet if anyone suffers as a 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:39.879 Christian, let him not be ashamed. Let him glorify God in 00:34:39.879 --> 00:34:43.859 that name. Just a little pause. We're just very used to the word 00:34:43.859 --> 00:34:48.319 Christian nowadays. But the word Christian was actually coined by 00:34:48.319 --> 00:34:54.940 non-Christians to put down Christians. In a sense, when our 00:34:54.940 --> 00:35:01.619 LGBTQ plus friends, they a few years ago decided that rather than having 00:35:01.619 --> 00:35:05.599 queer as an insult, they'd proudly say they were queer. They're actually just 00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:09.380 learning something from the early Christians. You see, we don't think about 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:13.739 it very much, but when Jesus died on the cross, he died a slave's death. He died a 00:35:13.739 --> 00:35:18.659 death that was designed to humiliate him and shame him to the maximum degree. 00:35:19.219 --> 00:35:23.299 They strip him naked on a public place. They give him a very, very painful death, 00:35:23.339 --> 00:35:28.480 which is usually quite slow. And it's a great, like nobody would want to put down, 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:32.039 by the way, I have a really fantastic family tree. My dad, my grandfather, my 00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:37.360 great-grandfather were all crucified. No, that wouldn't happen. If you, in fact, 00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:41.340 had been a Roman citizen, that was your case. You'd pretend you'd been adopted or 00:35:41.340 --> 00:35:44.119 something like that, that you didn't know who your parents or your grandparents 00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:48.599 were. And so it's non-Christians who call Christians Christians as a bit of 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:52.639 abuse. And this is the first time in the Bible that a Christian says to other 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:55.800 Christians, embrace the shame. 00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:04.019 Embrace it. Look what it says. If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:06.619 but let him glorify God in that name. 00:36:07.940 --> 00:36:11.039 In fact, here's another thing which is really important for us. 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:16.440 You know, the difference between guilt and shame, it's a very important difference. 00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:23.119 And most insults try to, and especially if there's a gang of insulters, what they want 00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:29.139 to do is try to create shame within you, not just guilt. When I feel guilty, it's because 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:35.179 I know I've done something wrong. When I feel shame, it's because I start to believe that 00:36:35.179 --> 00:36:44.859 I'm wrong, that there's something actually deeply wrong about me, something not right about me. 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:52.820 And that's partially why I do the things I do. And what Peter's saying here is very important 00:36:52.820 --> 00:37:01.120 advice to us. The big advice is, listen, just fill your mind with who Jesus is and what his life was 00:37:01.120 --> 00:37:06.519 really like and what his death was really like and the truth of his resurrection and the truth of his 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:12.260 coming again. Fill your mind with that. Have that story become so much part of how you think that it 00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:18.080 becomes how you see yourself and you see the world. And one of the best ways to combat shame 00:37:18.080 --> 00:37:23.260 or the growth of shame in your life is not just thinking about that story, but to spend time glorifying 00:37:23.260 --> 00:37:30.920 God. You know, like in a sense what we just did. I need you. Lord, I need you. Every hour I need you. 00:37:31.780 --> 00:37:41.760 And that's just so true. I need Jesus every hour. So do you. Anyway, verse 17, for it is time for 00:37:41.760 --> 00:37:46.180 judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for 00:37:46.180 --> 00:37:50.860 those who do not obey the gospel of God? That's just really, I'm not going to spend time on it. It's 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:55.200 really just saying, oh, verse 18, and if the righteous is scarcely safe, what will become of 00:37:55.200 --> 00:38:00.320 the ungodly and the sinner? It's just also another thing which we could do if we had more time is that 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:06.520 it's one of the ways for us to understand what insults and other things, it's a way that God is 00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:12.599 purifying Christians and purifying the church. But we're going through a process of purification 00:38:12.599 --> 00:38:19.519 because the justice, the judgment that we deserve, it's not because we don't deserve God's judgment, 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:25.400 but the judgment that we deserve fell on Christ. But those who've rejected Christ, that judgment 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:31.460 they deserve will one day come upon them. But for us, we're to see things as a type of purifying 00:38:31.460 --> 00:38:37.840 that's going on. And then this wonderful verse in closing, once again, therefore, a good verse to 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:43.740 memorize, therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will. What is it according to God's will? 00:38:43.860 --> 00:38:49.139 Remember, as I said, that God's will is that if you want to share the gospel, if you want to do good, 00:38:50.059 --> 00:38:55.420 if there's an opportunity for you to be generous, if there's an opportunity for you to be merciful or 00:38:55.420 --> 00:39:01.740 forgiving or show compassion or to be just. And obviously not every time that you do this will 00:39:01.740 --> 00:39:05.880 people think badly of you, but there will be times when you do these things and people will think 00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:12.639 you're sort of nuts. They'll look askance at you. They'll think that you're a bit unhinged. 00:39:14.539 --> 00:39:19.680 Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator 00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:25.899 while continuing to do good. People mock you for being a Christian, be a Christian anyway. 00:39:26.739 --> 00:39:34.259 People mock you for being generous, be generous anyway. People mock you for turning the other cheek, 00:39:34.419 --> 00:39:40.379 turn the other cheek anyway. People mock you for being concerned for the poor, be concerned for the 00:39:40.379 --> 00:39:49.599 poor anyway. People mock you for chastity, be chased anyway. People mock you for not watching porn, 00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:50.859 Don't watch porn anyway. 00:39:52.379 --> 00:39:53.719 Trust yourself to Creator. 00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:56.099 Be committed to doing good. 00:39:57.059 --> 00:39:58.359 That is the way of wisdom. 00:39:59.359 --> 00:40:00.279 I invite you to stand. 00:40:07.579 --> 00:40:08.940 Let's bow our heads in prayer. 00:40:11.699 --> 00:40:14.539 Father, we thank you for the sound of children outside 00:40:14.539 --> 00:40:16.839 and in the lobby. 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:19.860 Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit 00:40:19.860 --> 00:40:22.240 move deeply within each of these children. 00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:25.320 Help them, Father, not to be consumed 00:40:25.320 --> 00:40:28.900 by the idols and fears and mockery 00:40:28.900 --> 00:40:31.160 and foolishness of our culture, 00:40:31.160 --> 00:40:33.460 but to be grounded and rooted in Christ 00:40:33.460 --> 00:40:36.240 and the wisdom that comes from knowing him 00:40:36.240 --> 00:40:38.500 and being immersed in your word, his word. 00:40:39.100 --> 00:40:41.380 And we ask, Father, the same thing for ourselves. 00:40:42.100 --> 00:40:44.180 It is easy, Father, for the foolishness 00:40:44.180 --> 00:40:46.140 and the idolatry and the mockery 00:40:46.139 --> 00:40:53.960 and the idolatry and the foolishness 00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:55.659 and the mockery of this world 00:40:55.659 --> 00:40:59.139 to fill our souls so that we don't want to stand for you. 00:40:59.239 --> 00:41:01.179 And we ask, Father, that you would just bring 00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:02.879 the truth of your word home to us, 00:41:02.940 --> 00:41:05.519 that you would make the gospel more and more real 00:41:05.519 --> 00:41:08.659 to our hearts, both in terms of our final destiny, 00:41:08.819 --> 00:41:10.759 but as the story that just governs 00:41:10.759 --> 00:41:12.920 how we should see who we are 00:41:12.920 --> 00:41:14.700 and what the world is really like. 00:41:14.780 --> 00:41:16.400 And Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit 00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:19.000 would do this gentle but deep and powerful work 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:21.900 in us to make the gospel more real, 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:24.760 that we might be wise, that we might be free, 00:41:25.139 --> 00:41:26.980 that we might pursue that which is good 00:41:26.980 --> 00:41:28.820 and just and merciful and generous 00:41:28.820 --> 00:41:30.079 and compassionate. 00:41:31.099 --> 00:41:33.260 Father, we ask that you would do this wonderful work 00:41:33.260 --> 00:41:35.059 not only in each of our lives, 00:41:35.059 --> 00:41:37.259 but in us as a church as a whole 00:41:37.259 --> 00:41:39.679 and in all of the gospel-shaped churches 00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:40.400 of this community. 00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:42.719 And we ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:41:43.420 --> 00:41:43.759 Amen.