Transformation - Part 2
1 Peter 4:12–19 ESV
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
2 Corinthians 1:3–5 ESV
…who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 Keys to Finding Yourself Producing Fruit in the Fire
1. Do Not Be Surprised
1 Peter 4:12 ESV
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
John 16:31-33 NIV
“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
“Affliction is the best book in my library.” -Martin Luther
2. Rejoice That God’s Glory Will Be Revealed
1 Peter 4:13-14 ESV
But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you
Romans 5:3-5 NIV
God does not waste our tears. There is purpose in our pain. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
“God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.” - Joni Eareckson Tada
3. Don’t Suffer For The Wrong Reasons
1 Peter 4:15 ESV
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
Many different kinds of suffering:
Avoidable suffering
Fallen-World suffering
Unavoidable suffering
The fellowship of His sufferings
“God had one Son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” - St Augustine
4. Do Not Be Ashamed
1 Peter 4:16 ESV
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
“They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” - Charles Spurgeon
“Suffering is not good in itself. What is good in any painful experience is, for the sufferer, his submission to the will of God, and, for the spectators, the compassion aroused and the acts of mercy to which it leads.” ― C.S. Lewis
5. Recognize We Have God’s Presence In Our Pain
1 Peter 4:17-18 ESV
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
“We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)
6. Suffer Well And Honor God In It
1 Peter 4:19 ESV
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Romans 8:18 ESV
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The fruit of the spirit is produced most abundantly in the fires of life.
Suffering reminds us:
Life is not all about our comfort and happiness
Of the needs of people around us
This world is not our home
"You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgement and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly.” - Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna
Revelation 21:2–5 ESV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”