I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing upon our gathering. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
you grant us, Lord, thy presence in a felt way. We know that thou
art everywhere and especially where two or three are gathered
together in thy name, and we do gather in thy name. We do seek, though, that we might
feel that power of God that bring us salvation. But even if we
don't, Lord, help us to truly worship thee, to lift up thy
name on high, to preach the everlasting gospel. And Lord, do engage our
hearts, our affections, and set them on things above. to grant
then that thou would make thy people's hearts glad as they
view thee. We thank thee for this first
day of the week, the day when thou didst rise from the dead
and appear unto thy disciples. We ask this blessing through
thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn 224, Tune Hampstead 340 Let us read together from God's
holy and inspired word, the first epistle of Peter and chapter
4. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 1127, towards the back of your Bibles, 1127. Let us hear the word of the Lord. 1 Peter chapter 4 from verse
1. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind. For he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin. that he no longer should live
the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the
will of God. For the time past of our life
may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when
we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings,
banquetings, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange
that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking
evil of you. Who shall give account to him
that is ready to judge the quick and the dead? For for this cause
was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the Spirit. But the end of all things is
at hand. Be you therefore sober and watch
unto prayer. And above all things have fervent
charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude
of sins. Use hospitality one to another
without grudging. As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him
do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things
may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto 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. If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. For the Spirit
of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil
spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer,
or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify
God on this behalf, For the time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God, and if it first begin at us, what shall
the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 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. So reads the word of God. May he bless it to us and help
us in prayer. Let us pray. O the most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we seek to bow before thy throne, who fillest all things
and has made all things for thy own glory and by thy own power. And O Lord, we would give thee
the honour and glory due unto thy name, the reverence that
becometh thy house and becometh thy presence. O Lord, do remember
us that we might be of those who seek to glorify thy name. This people have I formed for
myself, they shall show forth my glory, my power. And O Lord,
we do seek that we might not be of those that only consult
to cast thee down from thine excellency. that Lord do grant
unto us as we gather that we might have a mind before whom
we stand. Lord, thou art the God that did
make Mount Sinai to quake and to smoke and to have such signs
that even Moses said, I do but fear and tremble. And oh Lord,
we know that thou art the same God that hath made this world
hath destroyed it in Noah's day, yet saved Noah alive, and that
hath dealt with Israel over all its history and the history of
the world and the nations of the world. Thou hast put one
nation down and lifted up another, and thou art still doing this
in the nations of the earth, for thou art the King of kings
and Lord of lords. And Lord, we would be reminded
that there is none that can say, and it cometh to pass, when the
Lord commandeth it not, that thou art in control, not out
of control, and Lord, that others are not pushing thee and causing
thee to do things that it is not thy will to do. And O Lord,
we do seek to rejoice in this, that thou art not only our God,
but the God of salvation. And O Lord, do grant unto us
to look unto Thee, and in Thy works, as we have heard in the
week, that we might have regard unto Thy works, and that we might
see by what Thou hast done and what Thou hast set before the
Church of God, that Thy will toward us is thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give an expected end. For we read that God commendeth
His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. But O Lord, we do pray that we
might be of those that know that Thou didst lay down Thy life
for us. Thou hast said that Thou didst
lay down Thy life for Thy sheep, and Lord, that Thou Redemption
is a particular redemption. And O Lord, we pray then that
we might know by thy calling that we indeed have been redeemed,
have been set free, and are not serving sin, and there has been
a difference made, and we have felt it, and the world notices
it, and we are not now what we once were, And what we are now,
we are by thy grace. O Lord, we do look to thee that
we might have that life of which thou hast said, I give them eternal
life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of mine hand. And O Lord, we
seek that those glorious truths of thy everlasting gospel ordered
in all things ensure that that might be strengthen to us. Lord, we mourn that at this time
there are many that are speaking against thy sovereign love for
thy people and thy keeping power over thy people. And by the falls
of those who have done evil and in a public way, Lord, there
are those that speak against thy precious truths and against
thy servants that do fear thy name and seek to walk in thy
revealed will. O Lord, do deliver us from man
whose breath is in his nostrils. Lord, we mourn that many will
be confirmed in the way of sin, in the way of a gospel that is
not a gospel. Lord, do deliver us and save
us and leave us not to be ashamed of thee and of thy word. who grant that we might live
holy, godly, upright lives, that we might not sin, that grace
might abound, that we might hate evil, that thou hast delivered
us from even the thought of foolishness, which is sin, and that thou hast
granted unto us a deliverance from the power and dominion of
sin and of Satan as he goes about, not only as a roaring lion, but
as an angel of light. O Lord, do save us from those
things then. Take away from thee thy glory
and save us from abuse of the precious truths of the gospel
that men would sin that grace might abound. O Lord, do help
us to do that which is well-pleasing in thy sight, to be living, constant,
and God-glorifying lives even. Though we may be persecuted for
it, Lord, do help us to be what thou hast have us to be and that
we might do those things that we have the peace of God and
blessing of God in our souls. Lord, we thank thee again that
we may gather together in thy house, that thy house still stands
here and the doors are still open. But Lord, do grant that
there might be many that come in through these doors, that
obey thy command to gather together in thy name, that there are those
that we have fellowship with and join with. And we do pray,
Lord, for each assembly of thy people this day, those that we
have been joining and assembling with in the last few days. Oh,
Lord, bless them and be with them as they gather today on
each hill of Zion. or those in this land, but Lord,
we remember dear friends in Holland and our churches in Australia,
America, and Canada. We pray for thy people everywhere. Oh Lord, do be pleased to remember
those that do not have a place of worship to gather and those
that may have a place of worship, but none to gather with them.
And oh Lord, do remember those that are discouraged and downcast
and despondent, and be pleased to lift them up and encourage
them in the Lord their God. You grant that we might each
be encouragers of the brethren. Oh Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember to bless the copies of thy word that go forth from
this place. Pray, Lord, that each one that
has a copy, that may read it, that it might be blessed to them,
that thy spirit might accompany thy word with power, that there
might be that grace seen in attendance, the means of grace, attendance
in gathering together, around thy word. And O Lord, we do then
seek that there might be that blessing that thou hast said,
my word shall not return unto me void, it shall accomplish
the thing whereto I sent it. Do grant, Lord, not only a sowing
time, but a reaping time, the time, Lord, when the blade first
be seen, and then when it starts to bring forth fruit, Lord, we
do pray for them, that we might be a fruitful people and see
a people bearing forth fruit. Oh, do pour out thy spirit upon
this land, this dark, benighted land that once was the land of
the book, but now we see in so many ways, even in many churches
that have gone away from the teaching of thy word, that actually
undermine rather than strengthen it. And Lord, do Thou be pleased
to grant a real revival again in this land. We pray for those
in authority over us. Lord, restrain the hands of wicked
men. Give wisdom to those that have
authority. And O Lord, do maintain to us
our religious liberties in this land. Remember those who are
persecuted and do not have the freedoms as we have, those in
other lands that cannot gather together, that must worship in
secret. O Lord, do help them, be with
them, those who may fear for their lives, those who may fear
that the copy, maybe one copy of thy word that they have shall
be taken away from them. O Lord, we do thank thee that
we have thy word and we have those freedoms in this land. O Lord, do bless us then as a
church and people here O Lord, do be with us in the week that
we've entered upon. Bless, Lord, thy servant, you
with us on Thursday, and do be with us in the events of the
week. We commit unto thee each one
to know and do thy will. Remember afflicted brethren and
do help them be with them. And Lord, those that have operations
before them this week, do be pleased to appear for us, and
do grant, Lord, Thy blessing upon the means used, and that
there might be a measured degree of healing. O Lord, we do commit
unto Thee those that have terminal illness, and we seek that Thou
hast lengthened their days. Grant them Thy felt presence
and grace at such a time. And O Lord, help each of their
loved ones as well. O Lord, forgive and pardon our
many sins. We would come with confession
before Thee of our thoughts that are sinful, our ways, our designs,
the things that we have done that we should not have done,
and those sins of omission, those things that we have not done
that we should have done. O, do deliver us from a lazy,
careless, prayerless, and indifferent spirit. to grant, Lord, that
we might not be content in just having some fruit, but that we
might be mindful that our Heavenly Father is glorified, that we
bear much fruit, and, Lord, that we might not thus be content
with the avoidance of some sin, but all, and that we might not
be content to have but a small measure of faith, but say with
thee, Disciples, Lord, increase our faith, and that we might
prosper and grow in the things of God, and that thou leave us
not to be without a vision, for we read that where the vision
perisheth, or ceaseth, the people perish, and do grant then an
expectation, a hope, Lord, for thy kingdom is growing. Thy purposes
are ripening fast. Thou art not disappointed in
the outcome of the preaching of the gospel, though we may
be. And O Lord, we do thank Thee that Thou then art in control. But we would look for great things,
and we would have that expectation that Thou wouldst do mightily.
Thou leave us not to restrain Thy hand by unbelief, do save
us from unbelief. Lord, that plague of our heart,
Lord, we trust it is a plague and that which we seek to overcome,
that Thou wouldst deliver us from it in all the ways that
it takes, in all its forms. Lord, do grant that we might
Believe thy word, and believe thy promised help, and believe
what thy revealed will is, and walk in it. O Lord, save us from
unbelief. Cause us really to know and understand
who we are obeying, who we are following, whose advice we are
taking. Lord, do save us from those ways
that are contrary to thine. Lord, how offensive it must be
for those that say they are Thine to lay aside Thy Word, Thy wisdom,
Thy direction, and go with what they think or what others advise
them to do. Help us to be followers of Thee.
May Thy Word dwell in us richly. May Thy grace be upon us. May Thy help be given. We thank Thee for every temporal
favour and blessing thy many favours toward us. Thou art a
good and gracious and merciful God. O Lord, help us to go forth
as Jehoshaphat did, in praising and glorifying thy name. For
thou art the same, thou dost not change. Though we may be
low and dejected and despondent, Lord, thou art the same. Lord,
this is our infirmity, that we would remember the years of the
right hand of the Most High, we would remember Thy works,
even Thy wonders of old. O Lord, be with us as Thy word
is opened up to us. O Lord, bless it with power and
glorify Thy great and Thy holy name. O Lord, we thank Thee that
Thou art He that hath come, the Lamb of God, that should take
away the sin of the world. Thou who hast suffered, bled,
and died, and risen again, Thou who sitteth at Thy Father's right
hand, our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. And Lord, we do thank Thee for
the promises of life through thy dear name, and do grant,
Lord, that realisation of that promise today, that we might
receive fresh life poured upon our souls, we might go forth
and be strengthened in thy way and in thy word. We ask, Lord,
these mercies through thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I am expected to preach here at 6.30 p.m. this evening. On Thursday evening, Mr. William
Arrowsmith is expected to preach at seven o'clock, and I'm expected
to preach here next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The collections taken during
September For the Cause, £809.20. For the Free Bible Fund, £248.50.
And for the Savannah Education Trust, the collection last Lord's
Day, £97.65. The Lord bless you in your giving. We hope to give
the numbers of Bibles given out Next Lord's Day, when we have
those figures for September, I just mentioned that the map
we have on our website that shows the location where the Bibles
have been requested from, that has not been updated for some
time, but that's not because the Bibles have not been taken.
We just have some restrictions on how to actually put the number
of the Bibles on. on that page, so that will be
updated in due time if the Lord will. So may the Lord bless every
copy of his word that goes forth. Hymn 992, Tune Angel's Hymn 281 Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to 1 Peter chapter 4 and reading
from our text, the last verse, verse 19. 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. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 19,
suffering according to the will of God. When the Lord is pleased
to call a person by grace, then there is a change that is wrought
in their hearts that will then affect what they do. It affects
their lives. And it is seen, it is noticed
by those round about them. And in the beginning of this
chapter, we have the change that is referred to, that belongs
and is joined with our Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered, he bled
on Calvary's tree, suffered for us in the flesh. in this world,
in a body like our own. And we are exhorted to arm ourselves
in the same mind, having the same realization that as our
Lord wrought salvation on this world through suffering, so we
also, as being called by God, are also to expect that there
will be a suffering associated with that. Our Lord was sinless
in all His life, and in everything that He did, there was no just
cause why He should suffer at all. He suffered according to
the will of God, and there was brought in the salvation of all
of His people. For the people of God that then
are called by grace, given eternal life, given a new nature, they
also here below are to seek to live according to the will of
God. And in doing that, they are to
expect that as their Lord suffered, so will they do. And we have set forth in verse
three, some picture of a former life. For the time past of our
life may suffice us. And of course, there's many differences. Some of the Lord's people have
not lived in open sin. Others have, but all of us have
at heart a wicked heart of unbelief and indemnity to God. Time past
of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the
Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings,
banquetings, and abominable idolatries. But then there was a change that
was wrought. And in these opening remarks,
I want to just contrast for you two verses in this account. There is verse four, and then
there is verse 14, or verse 12, sorry. And in verse 4, it is
the Gentiles, it is those that we have walked with in sin, those
that have known us in unregeneracy, they look upon us as have been
called by God's grace, as being converted, And they think it's
strange. They think it a strange thing
that we do not go along with them in the same excesses that
they do. And they speak evil of us. So this is the unbelievers, uncalled,
those that are untouched, looking upon those that are called, are
changed, Those who are new creatures in Christ, whose lives now are
different, whose language is different, whose aim is different,
and they think it to be a strange thing. What has made such a difference? What has turned this person into
someone different? It may be they have known that
person for 40 years or more, and they have been drinking companions,
companions in rioting, companions in iniquity and sin, and suddenly
that person changes, and they don't want to go with their former
companions anymore, and they start joining with those that
fear the Lord and walk in His ways, And it becomes a tremendous
shock to those of their fellow companions. Now we know this
is not something we might say just confined to the people of
God. I remember years ago in doing
engineering training, and we were being taught of public speaking,
but taught also of the behavior and the reactions of people One
of the things that we were taught is that if there's a group of
people and one person, and I think the example was given that that
person was, say, a smoker in that group, they were accepted
in the group as a smoker. They're accepted as to what they
were. And then, if that person gives
up smoking, or they change from what they were, the group finds
it hard to adjust to it. It's not the same person that
they used to be. And that was told in quite a
secular way as an observation of the way the human mind works,
the way men work, as how they accept something as something
goes along in the way that they've always had it, It's when that
is rocked, someone rocks the boat, someone does something
out of the ordinary, not expected, that will be a shock to that
group. And that was set before us in
a setting quite apart from the things of God. But when we think
of the things of God, it's not just one thing in a person's
life. It's not just one thing that
they stop. It's not just one thing that
they start doing. It is a complete change. Complete change. And so we need
not be surprised that those that look on will ask questions and
are quite shocked and find this really hard to comprehend, to
take in. that someone that they have known
is now not the same person, like a completely different person.
Well, the Bible says that we are new creatures in Christ. All things are passed away. All
things become new. So that is what we have in verse
four with the world looking on to those that are converted.
But now we have, in verse 12, the other way, where those that
are converted are looking upon their lives now that they are
walking in, now that they are changed, now that they are called
to walk after the Lord and after his ways, they suddenly have
these trials and these difficulties and these oppositions, and the
thought can easily come in, but I'm serving the Lord now. I'm
doing His will. I'm walking in His ways. Why
is all this trouble? Why is all this opposition? Why this trouble? Why can't men
see what I see? Why can't they agree with me?
Why can't they go along with what I'm doing? And in addition
to that, maybe we have sickness and things happen in our lives
that are not pleasant, and we think, why is this? I am doing
what's right, I'm walking in the ways of the Lord, and why
have I got this, as in verse 12, fiery trial? A fiery trial
that is trying us. And so we read, Beloved, think
it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you
as though some strange thing happened unto you." So in verse
4, we have the world looking on at those that are converted. In verse 12, we're having those
that are converted looking at the world and looking at those
things they are passing through and experiencing and the opposition
that they're having. The world thinks it's strange
what's happened to those that have been converted, but the
converted one thinks it's strange that they suddenly, now that
they're converted, have this fiery trial and these difficulties
and everything going wrong, and it seems that taking on the name
of Christ has made them an enemy to everyone around them, and
everyone's hand is against them. And it does well for us to As
in a portion like this, look at it from both ways. As a Christian, as a believer,
we might be able to go along with verse four and think, yes,
I am different. It's not a surprise that the
world is viewing me in the way that they are. But then it can
be a real shock when we think that if we are walking in the
ways of the Lord, why do we have trouble? Why are things going
seemingly wrong? Why is there persecution? Why
is man speaking so much against us? Why has the Lord appointed
this fiery trial? In fact, there's a thought he
hasn't appointed it. It's wrong. It's a strange thing. It's not what we think Christianity
should have been. It's not what we expected when
we embrace the Bible and embrace the Lord and sought to walk in
his ways. And so then what follows is a
setting forth of this fiery trial and what has been the cause of
it and the sufferings and the trials of the people of God.
And it's summed up in the words of our text at the end, 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. On to look with the Lord's help,
firstly, what is not. according to the will of God,
and thinking of it in the context here. And then secondly, the
suffering that is according to the will of God. Wherefore let them that suffer
according to the will of God. And lastly, how we are to act
When suffering, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing
as unto a faithful Creator. But firstly, what is not according
to the will of God in the context? A short answer would be that
which is set before us in verse 15. or as a busybody in other men's
matters, interfering in other people's lives, that which doesn't
belong unto them, they have no authority at all in another's
life, those are not then suffering
according to the will of God, that suffer because they are
doing those things. And we could put it in a way
that maybe comes in the context of a converted person that may
think then, especially with a busy body and other men's matters,
that they are going to interfere in the lives of others round
about them. Now, of course, with a one that
has authority, like a father, if a father is converted, he
has that authority from God. It's not another man's matter,
it is matter how he brings up his children, how he is the head
over his wife. But a question was asked to a
pastor in a question-answer session once, how much should a pastor,
or especially in a pastoral situation, have to do or have an influence
over the lives of his congregation? And that pastor answered rightly,
he said, none. He said, it's not for me to tell
you how to run your house or what to wear and what not to
do and what days to observe or not to observe. He said, on my
own, he said, I have no authority. In fact, in that answer, he said,
I have no authority even in the church of God. The only authority
that he had was the word of God, as he was faithfully speaking
the Word of God and bringing the Word of God before them,
his authority was the Word of God. It would be remembered what
the Lord was challenged with, who gave thee this authority
and by what authority doest thou these things? And it may be that
one, even as a early believer will think well they're going
to be going around the whole congregation and they're going
to be telling this one they should be doing that and stop doing
that and they're going to be ordering everyone else's lives. A busy body in other men's matters. You know it was said of Ezra
when they had the strange wives that were they had married, the
congregation, they said to him, this matter belongeth unto thee,
arise and do it, and we will be with thee. And those things
that we were doing, they belonged to him to do. I remember years
ago, speaking on the telephone in a work situation, and asking
a certain product, I think it was a pneumatic device, and I
was speaking to this person, which it was my business, it
was my job, and suddenly there's this clunk on my desk, and one
of the other workers had overheard what was done, and they thought
that they could tell me what I wanted to know and they clunked
this part on my desk. And it comes as a bit of a shock
that this person was overhearing my job and what I was doing and
decided that they'd just put their oar in and just interfere
with that. And so when you have this with
a busybody in other men's matters, you can have those who feel whether
in word or in a book They've got to put everyone else right. A preacher that will use the
pulpit, as has been said sometimes, as a coward's castle, to have
a go at one family and then have a go at another family. And in
a way, exceeding the authority. They're not speaking the word
of God, but interfering as a busybody in other men's matters. So we
have, set before us in verse 15, where we are not to suffer
in this way. And very often that way, like
in verse 15, is a way that even the world, those that know the
Lord not, they would see what was wrong in those sort of things. The Lord's people are not to
use the fact that they are called, or the Lord's people, as an excuse
for doing things which would bring them before the authorities
and bring them before, justly before the courts of the land. They're not to use their grace
as an excuse to sin or as saying, well, though I've done wrong,
God will forgive me and and for some reason I can be above the
law. No, God's people are not above
the law. And if they do unlawful things,
then the church of God is not to cover up and not to make out
that those things should not be dealt with by a secular court. So there is a way that is suffering,
but it is not according to the will of God. But there's a question here.
Is it possible that a person can do anything that is not according
to the will of God? Of course, we have in Deuteronomy
29 at the end of that chapter, that the secret things belong
unto the Lord our God, But those things which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words
of this law." And it's important for us to remember that. When we think of the fall, God
had given to Adam and Eve a very clear command that they should
not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. The revealed
will of God was that they should not take of that fruit. And there's a sentence against
him. But who can say then that the
fall happened and took God completely unawares? All his plans, the
Lamb's Book of Life, the loving his people, in Christ Jesus,
the choosing of them in Christ from the foundation of the world,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, that was all nothing,
it wasn't appointed. We have that the fall was in
the purposes and secret will of God, but that which was revealed
to man was that he should obey. And the same when we take it
to the crucifixion of our Lord. What Peter said clearly shows
the two sides. On one side, our Lord was delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. He was
the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. Our
Lord said, no man taketh my life from me, I lay it down of myself. But then Peter says, ye have
taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain. And he holds accountable
and responsible those that had crucified the Lord in spite of
all the evidence that they had seen of the miracles and all
that the Lord had done, that he was the Lord of life and glory,
and they had brought a mock trial and that they had condemned him
when even Pilate says, I find no cause of death in him. And we see in these accounts
where we have God's will, God's secret will, his purpose that
he is working out, but that which he sets before us as his revealed
will. We are warned that we are not
to sin that grace might abound. We are not to say, well, we're
doing a good deed, we're doing a charitable deed, so it doesn't
matter if we are doing it on the Lord's day or it doesn't
matter that we are breaking some of the commandments of the Lord
because there is some balancing good to it. We read that the
Lord has shown us what is good and what doth he require of thee
but to walk uprightly, to walk in the fear of the Lord To obey
is better than sacrifice. We have a situation with King
Saul, that he was told to go and to destroy Amalek, everything. All the sheep, the oxen, the
people, he had to destroy them all. And when he came back and
he met Samuel and he said, blessed be thou of the Lord, I have obeyed,
I've kept the word of the Lord. And Samuel said, well, what means
then this bleating of the lambs that I hear? Oh, he said, but
the people have kept back some of the best of the flock to sacrifice
unto the Lord thy God. Samuel says, the Lord has rejected
thee, to obey is better than sacrifice. It's so easy, isn't
it, to think, well, we'll lay aside the commandments of God
to think that something will be better. And we can even think,
well, we will do evil that good may come because we cannot do
anything that is not according to the will of God. It's a solemn
thing where there is a reproach laid upon the people of God,
those that have rightly testified that the Lord is sovereign. Who is he that saith, and it
cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not, He is in control. But then when men sin, when God's
people sin, it's not to be laid and said, well, the Lord is the
author of sin. That they couldn't help it, that
they've done it because it was the secret will of God. David
didn't turn around and say, well, it was the secret will of God
that I should lie with Bathsheba and kill her husband because
Good came out of it, Solomon came and he's in the line to
Christ and so it was good. No, he was severely chastened,
saw did not depart from his house and he confesses that he has
sinned. The same as it was when he numbered
Israel. There's a not sheltering beneath
the secret will of God. It is the Lord's, prerogative
to bring good out of evil. You know, Joseph, he says to
his brothers that ye meant it for evil, but God meant it for
good. It didn't change the evil that
his brothers had done. That was evil. But when he could,
when they were repentant, when they were sorrowful, when they
were really sorry for their sin and he tested it in how he dealt
with Benjamin and favoured him to see whether they'd react the
same as they did to him and they didn't. But then he can comfort them
in saying that God meant it for good to save your lives by a
great deliverance. In that way, to God's repenting,
sorrowful, mourning people, It's right to show them how the Lord
has overturned it for good, made it work for good, in spite of
their sin, in spite of their evil. So when we think then of
the will of God and according to the will of God, and in this
context here, suffering according to the will of God, it must be
to the revealed will of God. If we think of something that
is not according to the will of God, in this context, it is
something that, or if we would say, something that is condemned in
the word of God, something the Lord has said is evil, is wrong,
and we're walking in that way and suffer because of that, that
is not according to the will of God. in spite of anything
that the Lord may bring good out of it, it is not according
to the revealed will of God. But then on the other hand, when
we come to our second point, then we see not only the secret,
but his, or not only the reveal, but his secret will, the will
of God. We are to always remember that
God is in control, that he is over all. We must remember that
and that will help us in this second point. So the suffering
that is in according to the will of God, In verse four, we go back to
verse four. We have suffering there spoken
of by those who are speaking evil of us. We are walking according
to the new light that the Lord has given and the will of God,
but of those that are speaking evil of us. It's a hard thing
for us, isn't it, when we know people are speaking evil of us. But that is one of those sufferings
according to the will of God. If we are walking in His way,
in a right way, in obedience, and then people speaking against
us, we are suffering according to the will of God. The Lord has not said to his
people, if you do what is right, I will hedge you about and no
one will speak evil against you. You say, but it's the Lord's
people. It's some of God's people that are speaking against me. Yes, that may be so. And a sad
thing when it is so. But that we must leave with the
Lord. In verse 14, those that are reproached,
if ye be reproached for the name of Christ. What does reproach
mean? Really accused for the name of
Christ, or disapproved of, or criticized for not doing as expected. You know, today the world has
an expectation We should say this, we should do this, we should
call people by whatever they want to be called by, and we
should act in this way that the world approves of. When we do
not do so, and we say the reason we do not do so is because of
Christ, then we are reproached, we are criticized for that. Nebuchadnezzar says, I've made
an image, you bow down to this image, this is what is expected
of you. But the Hebrew children, they
said, no, we're not going to do that. And the reason why we're
not going to do it is because God has commanded us to worship
him and him alone. And the reproach, the criticism,
the persecution that came from that. So we have those two places
where it is clearly spoken of as one that is suffering as a
Christian. Yet if any man, in verse 16,
suffer as a Christian, as one that is a disciple, a follower
of Christ, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch,
yet we suffer because of that. This word has been a very precious
word to me. when I was 24 and, or probably
23, and taking classes as a teacher of those that were in their late
teens, early 20s, after work, and teaching them how to read
and understand engineering drawings. And they used to bait me, blaspheme,
so all manner of evil. And week by week, I thought,
I cannot stand this anymore, cannot go anymore. And then next
week, they'd be good, and I wouldn't be doing those things. And then
they'd do it again. I remember standing in front
of the whiteboard, feeling that I just couldn't continue anymore. And I felt in a way, because
I was the teacher, that I was responsible for their blasphemies
and for the things that they were saying against the Lord. The Lord dropped into my mind
so clearly as if he had spoken it. Well, he had spoken it, but
a human voice had said it to me in the latter part of verse
14. On their part he is evil spoken
of, but on your part he is glorified." All what they were saying were
just because of my profession and my life and how I was walking
before the Lord. And that brought on me all that
persecution and all those words and all those actions. But the
Lord settled it. and I hope always to remember
that time. We have in chapter 3, in verses
15 and 17, the exhortation to sanctify the Lord God in our
hearts and to set him apart in a special place. You're ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Why do they
ask? Because we do things that they
don't do. We don't do things that they
do. We can't be hypocrites if they're
asking questions of things that we're actually doing. A hypocrite
is one that says one thing and does another But here is anticipated
questions asked because of what we do, not what we say. And then having a good conscience
that whereas they speak evil of you as of evildoers, they
may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better if the will
of God be so. that ye suffer for well-doing
than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
And so he uses in that chapter the same as he opens in chapter
four and sets before us Christ's sufferings, how Christ was persecuted,
evil spoken against, because of the upright, perfect way that
he was living and acting and speaking. And as he would say
to the people of God, you walk as he walked, and you will have
the same opposition, the same conflict. But be careful that
the opposition and persecution you have is because you upright
way and not in a wrong way. I would add some other aspects
or ways of suffering according to the will of God. The Lord
said that in the world you shall have tribulation, that is great
trouble, in me you shall have peace, And we think of Job where,
because Satan falsely accused him, the Lord permitted that
fiery trial to come upon him. Job, he says, the Lord gave and
the Lord had taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. You and I will not be exempted
from tribulation. And sometimes we may not be able
to tell why something has come upon us, why some disaster, some
illness, some loss come upon us. We are not to inquire. All we
do know is that the Lord is control in this world. And if sufferings
come in that way, it is because of the will of God, who is he
that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth
it not. The second is through persecution. We think of Stephen as he rightly
set forth our Lord Jesus Christ, and he explained and preached
to those of the Jews of the coming of the Lord, and how that then
they reacted in stoning him to death. We think of the first
300 years of the Church of God after Christ's resurrection,
the 10 terrible persecutions during those 300 years, when
many Christians suffered violent, painful, terrible deaths. That
persecution is according to the will of God. It does not excuse the evil that
is done, but we must not think that God is helpless to intervene,
but that these persecutions have come because God has changed
a people, made them to be believers, and this is the world's reaction
to them. The world will, the enemy will
persecute the people of God. And then we have thirdly, sicknesses. No part of sin, sin that brings
forth death. We have Elisha falling sick of
the sickness whereof he died. And in effect, every sickness
is a reminder of sin, reminder of death eventually shall overtake
us. Just being a Christian does not
mean that we won't fall sick, we won't have illness. And so
suffering according to the will of God, sometimes we will have
these sicknesses. And may we be able to to look
upon it and say, it is the will of God that this come into my
life, whether it is a physical sickness, a mental sickness,
whatever it is, he whom thou lovest is sick. That was who
said of Lazarus, and the Lord knew what he would do, And so
we would join that with suffering according to the will of God. And then chastening. The correcting, chastening hand
of God. It was said to David, the sword
shall not depart from my house. It was chastening because of
his sin of murder and adultery. Did that then excuse? What Absalom
did, what Amnon did, what was done in his house, what was done
by the sons of his sister Zerahiah, Joab, those that had a different
spirit than him. No, it didn't excuse it. But we know that those things
came because of the will of God. Let him curse, said David, when
Shimei was cursing, For the Lord hath bidden him. It may be the
Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. Later on,
when David was to die, he gave charge of his son, Solomon, that
Shimei, he should not have a comfortable death, but that he should be
put to death. And Solomon used wisdom to bring
him where he had gone against his command and therefore was
put to death. But when we have the chastening
of the Lord, sometimes it can be, like in Solomon's case, where
the Lord raises up men, women, people that are used in the Lord's
hand to chasten us. And we are to look upon that
as the will of God that He brings such chastening in that form
of a fiery trial to be in our lives. And of course, with David, we
might say it wasn't chastening of a day or two, it was over
the rest of his life because of that one sin. It marked out. Sin has consequences. It may
be so with us. We discern many things that people
say against us, do against us. We trace it all back to one sin. and to one way of acting that
we acted the Lord has marked us for. And so suffering according
to the will of God. We need to think whenever we
are suffering, whenever we are walking in a painful path, is
this the will of God? Are we suffering according to
the will of God? Have an eye to the Lord in it,
and that will regulate how we act under that suffering. And so I want to look lastly
how we are to act when suffering. Commit the keeping of their souls
to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator. The first
thing here is to continue in well-doing. You know, when Daniel
was threatened with death, if he continued to pray, what did
he do? He continued to pray. It's very
easy for us when we start to get those speaking against us,
then to drink into their spirit and we speak against them. And
we reply against them. Our Lord had contradiction of
sinners against himself. Some of it is the hardest thing,
is to say, I'm going to do to you what you've done to me. I'm
going to retaliate. I'm going to go against you.
How easy it changes our spirit by what other people are doing
to us. But what is emphasized here,
and especially if we're following Christ, that we are to continue
in this God-glorifying way. You know, we might have a situation
where we suffer according to the will of God, and then because
of that suffering, then we start to act in a way that is not according
to the will of God, because we've got malice and envy and bitterness
against those that the Lord has raised up to chasten us or to
correct us. And so, the way that is set forward,
especially if we are suffering according to the will of God,
take very care that how we act at that point, we're not acting
a way that brings upon us suffering that is not according to the
will of God. Continue to walk as Christ would
have walked, a God-glorifying way. Say not, I will do to him
as he has done to me. And then we are to commit, that
is to pray, to bring this matter, and especially the keeping of
our souls. What is to be directed here is
more worth your soul be kept than your body. We want to guard
our reputation. We want to guard our health and
our wealth and our lands and our church and everything that
we hold dear. But the Lord says, no, your soul
is the most precious. They can kill the body. They
can take away your house, your land, and everyone away from
you. That with our Lord, they all
forsook him and fled and took away his life. But it's the soul
that's precious. And we're to commit the keeping
of our souls unto the Lord. Where there's these trials, There
must be prayer. There must be bringing it to
the Lord. And then lastly, there's a committing
it unto the Lord as unto a faithful creator. Faithful creator. Not hard thoughts of the Lord. but unto the Lord who has faithfully
created this world and created us upon it, and then also created
us as new creatures in Christ. If we can say with Paul that
we are what we are by the grace of God, and because we are what
we are, then we are persecuted and then we are tried because
of it, May we commit these things unto the Lord who has made us,
given us grace, given us his blessing, and given us really
this evident token that even the world can see a difference
has been made. Come ye out from among them,
touch not the unclean thing. I will receive you, ye shall
be my sons and my daughters. All flows from Christ's death,
Christ's sufferings, those for whom he has put away their sin,
he then calls them and they are changed, they are different,
and the world hates that change of redeemed, separated people,
and they persecute the seed of God, the people of God. And may
we be encouraged if we are amongst those that suffer in this way,
as bearing the mark of our Lord, have some fellowship with Him,
but take it very careful to obey that direction in continuing
in well-doing and committing unto Him our souls, and to look
all unto the Lord as being faithful, faithful in all that He's done
and all that He does. The Lord is good. May we trust
in him and rest in him. May the Lord then bless this
word to us and help us in these fiery trials to suffer according
to the will of God. Amen. Hymn 259, Tune Evangelist 138 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.