1 PETER 4:1-112009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Peter 4:1-11

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. Here in 1 Peter chapter 4, we're dealing with the subject of suffering. Peter has been talking about suffering already in this epistle. We dealt with it at the end of chapter 3. We also dealt with it in chapter 2.

It's really a theme of this book and next week as we continue on, we'll continue the subject of suffering and a couple weeks later when we get into chapter 5, there'll be some more talk about suffering that Peter shares and so you see that suffering was a big element of what Peter was writing about as he's writing this epistle. The people that he was writing to were

He's the Lord, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Some were raising two hands because you're suffering right now. You've suffered a lot. You've experienced a lot of hurt and heartache and difficulty. And we can all relate to the subject of suffering. And so it's very appropriate for us to consider this subject, even though it's not our most favorite subject in the world to consider.

As we look here at chapter 4, 1 Peter, Peter is really giving us instruction on how to handle suffering. You and I as Christians, how are we to respond when there's suffering in our lives? When there's hurt and heartache, when there's pain and difficulty, how are we to conduct ourselves? How are we to respond to these obstacles that we face and these things that come against us?

Now there's many different ways of handling suffering. Some people try to ignore suffering. They try to drown out suffering in their lives. And so they fill their lives instead with entertainment, with alcohol, with drugs, with parties, with whatever they can to try to drown out, to help them forget about and not think about the reality of their life in which there is great suffering.

Some people seek to escape suffering. They do everything they can. Just, I don't want to have anything to do with it. If there's a hint that pain might be involved, if there's a hint that there's going to be some suffering, well, we just won't go down that path at all. And so they try to run from it, although they cannot. And often it happens.

more suffering because you become more sensitive and more irritated by every little thing that happens for those who try to escape and run away from suffering. Some people are crushed by suffering. There's hardship in your life. There's difficulty and there's pain and it just...

It just crushes you. You're discouraged. You're depressed. You give up whatever it is that's going on or that you were trying to do when that suffering came. And perhaps it's the Christian walk and maybe you've experienced that. There was the desire to walk with God, but then there came the suffering and it was like, forget it. I don't want to have anything to do with that. It's

too hard. And there's all these different ways that we can respond to suffering with. We can try to ignore it. We can try to run from it. We can be crushed by it. Or,

We can follow Peter's exhortation here. And there's five things that he shares with us that we are to do in response to suffering and in the midst of suffering in our lives. The first thing he'll go to share with us here in the first six verses is that we are to arm our minds or arm ourselves with the mind of Christ. Look at verse 1. He says, Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh...

Arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

Peter begins with the word therefore. He's connecting the thought he's sharing now with the one that he has just been sharing. And what he's just been talking about, we talked about last week there, verses 18 through 22, how Christ suffered for us. He suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. He endured great physical suffering.

emotional suffering. Great hardship and difficulty, excruciating pain, and yet He counted it worth it. Hebrews tells us that it was the joy that was set before Him, it was for that joy that He endured the cross. Looking forward to what God was doing through that suffering, He endured, He suffered for you and for me, that we might have relationship with Him. And so Peter says, therefore,

Since this is the way that Christ suffered, since he suffered for us, he suffered for you. He bore pain for you. He endured agony for you and for me. Since he suffered for us in the flesh, Peter is saying, look, the basis for how we handle suffering, the basis for what God expects of us in the midst of suffering is the way that Jesus handled suffering and responded to suffering.

Because we are followers of Christ. We're His disciples. We are to live our lives as He did. To make decisions as He would. To love people as He did. We're to be like Him. That's what the word Christian means. It means Christ-like. And so, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, then we are to arm ourselves with the same mind. The word suffer...

It means exactly what we think it means whenever we think of suffering, hardship, difficulty, pain, all of the above, all of those types of things. But it's interesting because it comes from the idea, more literally, it's the opposite of free action. So it's not something that you do, but it's something that's done to you. And that's what really suffering is. It's the things in this life that we...

Have done to us. That happened to us. The things that we have no control over. And it can be persecution, which is probably more specifically what Peter is talking about as he's writing this letter. But it also deals with general hardship, difficulty or pain. The reality is that life is full of suffering.

Life is full of things over which we have no control and they happen to us and they inflict upon us pain and difficulty and hardship. And we have to overcome. And there's obstacles in our path. There's things that come against us. And this is just as true for us as Christians as it is for those who do not believe in God. Life is full of suffering. The question is, the question is not if we will suffer, but it's when.

And when we suffer, how are we to handle that suffering? How are we to respond? Peter says, arm yourselves also with the same mind. We need to make a decision. We need to make a choice. We need to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ. You know, so many of our battles in the Christian walk are won and lost in our minds.

There's so many. The victory is there by whether we choose to believe God at His word or not. Whether we choose to be obedient to God or not. Whether we choose to follow Him or not. The victory, the battle is won or lost.

Many times in our mind. And how we handle suffering is one of those battles. Peter says you need to put on, to arm yourself with the mind of Christ. Can you look at the person next to you and tell them, Jesus suffered and so will I.

That was a little too quiet for me, guys. I'm not really sure you were listening to that. So, just with a little bit more gusto, just be confident of this. This is what Peter says, Jesus suffered and so will I. Tell the person next to you. There you go. That's much better. I know it's not very exciting. It's not something that we are very happy about and would choose if we had the opportunity to choose differently. But the reality is, Jesus suffered...

And therefore, since Christ suffered for us, put on the same mind. Understand that I am going to suffer, that you are going to suffer, just like Christ did. And because He suffered, you and I are going to suffer. We suffer persecution. In John 15, verse 18, Jesus said, Look, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me first, before it hated you. Just like Jesus was hated, we'll be hated. But not just in persecution.

In general, hardship's in difficulty. Remember the one guy who ran up to Jesus, oh, I want to follow you, Lord. And there in Luke chapter 9, Jesus said, look, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. There's hardship, wants, need, times of difficulty. Just as Christ suffered, you and I are going to suffer. We're going to experience hardship. We're going to experience pain. And since Christ suffered...

We are to arm ourselves with the same mind. Prepare yourself. Protect yourself. I like the idea of armor because it's the idea of protection. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ. Protect yourself. Don't

Don't think, don't try to live in the fantasy that you're not going to have any problems in life. Sometimes, especially as we start out as new believers, we think, hey, I'm a Christian now. Everything's going to be awesome. There's not going to be any problems or difficulties. Everything's just going to come together. It's like I made it to easy street. Now we've got it set. But that illusion quickly falls away, doesn't it? Because, well, we face reality and there's hardship. Protect yourself.

Prepare yourself now. Make the decision. Make the understanding now. I am going to suffer because Christ suffered. Our suffering, though, serves a purpose. It's going to happen, and so we need to put on the mind of Christ. We need to recognize and acknowledge I'm going to suffer, but we also need to understand that

That our suffering serves a purpose. Look at the end of verse 1. He says, There's a purpose. The suffering changes our relationship with sin. Verse 2. For the Christian, suffering is never meaningless. In fact, suffering is accomplishing the work of God in our lives.

In that way, suffering is often the answer to our prayers. Maybe not the answer that we want, but it is the answer to our prayers. Have you ever prayed the prayer? Have you ever called out and said, God, I want to serve you and I want to do your will. And that was the prayer. That was the cry of your heart. God answers that prayer and he accomplishes that through suffering. Have you ever cried out to God and prayed out to the Lord, God, I need help. I've tried to

Get rid of this issue in my life. I've tried to deliver myself from this sin. God, would you help me deal with this sin? Would you set me free from bondage to this thing? Would you work in this area of my life? And God answers that prayer with suffering. That's what Peter says. For he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. That he should no longer live the rest of the time in his flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. God uses suffering in our lives to

To change our relationship with sin so that we're not bound to it, but instead that we turn from it, that we cease from sin. He uses suffering in our lives to help us

Be in a position to be able to do the will of God. That we wouldn't live our lives any longer for the lusts of the flesh, for the desires and cravings of this world and the desires and cravings of our sinful nature, but that we would live our lives to accomplish the will of God. That we would seek to fulfill His purposes for us. That we would seek first the kingdom of God. Suffering.

God uses it in our lives. It's not our favorite thing in the world, but it's meaningful. There's a purpose to it. God uses the furnace of affliction to purify us, to strengthen us, and to prepare us. We're familiar with James chapter 1. We studied it not too long ago, where James tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials. He says there in James 1.3, knowing that

that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James says the same thing that Peter is saying. The trials in our life, you count it all joy because it's producing patience. And as patience continues to be produced in your life, it brings you to completion, that you lack nothing. But he says, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing...

that the testing of your faith produces patience. Where do you know things? In your mind. Arm yourself with the same mind. Arm yourself with the understanding that God is going to use suffering to accomplish His purposes, to change your relationship with sin, to bring you to a place that you can do the will of God. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ. Since He suffered, I will suffer. But it's not meaningless.

God is dealing with sin that I may serve Him. Verse 3, He says, We look at the first part of this verse and I think we can say amen for the most part, right?

We've spent enough of our past lifetime doing the will of the Gentiles. We've spent enough of our past lifetime in sin and junk that just fill our lives with regret. We've spent enough of our past lifetime running away from God. Now it's time to do the will of God and serve Him completely. But how? God's answer? Through suffering. Through suffering, He brings us to a place where we no longer...

the will of the Gentiles. Where we recognize, boy, that was a waste. I don't want to waste my life pursuing those things anymore. But instead, I want to pursue the will of God. I think we can all agree that, hey, we've spent enough time in our past pursuing things that we shouldn't have pursued. I think we can agree that we want to do God's will. Our issue comes is

That we don't care for the way that God accomplishes that in us. Because it's through suffering. Through suffering He accomplishes this in us. It's kind of like we're a chunk of metal in the ground. A precious metal, gold or silver. And we want to be dug up. We want to be cleaned up. We want to be, well, made into something nice. A bracelet or ornament or something that's useful. We want to be changed.

And so what does a metalsmith do? Well, he unearths that precious metal. He cleans it up. But how does he do that? Well, he puts it in the furnace. He turns up the heat. He melts it down and removes the impurities there in that melted state there in the furnace. From there he brings it out and he fits it into the mold or he brings out the hammer depending on what he's fashioning out of it. In the same way,

We're like that chunk of gold. We want to be pulled out of the miry clay and have our feet set upon the rock and we want to go forward and do the will of God. The way God does that, like the metals, He puts us in the furnace of affliction. He brings out the impurities that way. He cleanses us. That's how we cease from sin, that we may pursue the will of God, that He can begin to mold us or to hammer us, that He can begin to shape us and transform us.

and to the Christian that He wants us to be. And He does that through affliction, through suffering, through trial and difficulty. That's why I shared a couple of weeks ago, nothing bad happens to Christians. Because everything that happens in our life, the suffering of our life, big or small, it's all used by God to make us more like Him and to deal with sin and to help us pursue the will of God. Suffering is a reality.

It's painful, it's difficult, it's not our favorite thing in the world, but it's meaningful and there's a purpose. And God uses it to accomplish in our lives that which needs to be accomplished. Verse 4.

He says, in regards to these, what is the these? Well, verse 3, he ended by saying, we walked in lewdness and lust and drunkenness and revelries and drinking parties and abominable idolatries. Those are the things that we used to walk in. In regards to those things, they, that is the world, they think it's strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. And to that, I say, mission accomplished. We spent the last few weeks studying the idea of being a sojourner.

A sojourner, one who is a foreigner, one who is not a citizen of this world, but our citizenship is in heaven. And so when the world looks on us and says, you guys are strange. They think it's strange. They think, are you a foreigner?

And then they speak evil of you because you don't participate in the things that you once did. You're not out drinking anymore. You're not out partying anymore. You're not participating in these conversations anymore. You're not involved in these types of activities anymore. And they speak evil of you as a result. But for us, it's mission accomplished. They've noticed there's a change, there's a difference. We're living the witness that God has called us to live. We're being sojourners. Verse 5 says,

He says, And remember, that's what began the idea of being a sojourner. That people around us are going to stand before God. And so we are to live in such a way that when they stand before God, they'll glorify God because of the lives that we lived.

And as Peter was encouraging us to be a sojourner, we looked at many different ways that God has called us to do that by submitting to the governing authorities and submitting to our employers and having a good marriage relationship and loving other Christians and doing good even when it hurts and being ready to give a defense. All of these are elements in the life of a sojourner.

And when they think it's strange that you don't live the way that you used to live and you don't participate in the things that everyone else participates in, well, that's mission accomplished. That's evidence that the life that you're living, you're being a witness to God. When they speak evil of you, it's evidence that you're on track. They speak evil of you because you're walking with God, because your citizenship is in heaven. Everyone around us is going to stand before God and give an account to Him.

And so once again, Peter is saying, look, live in such a way that you can impact their life and be a witness to them. Verse 6, So he says,

Now, this may be a reference, as we talked about last week, finishing up chapter 3, to the dead in Abraham's bosom, that when Christ went there, he preached the gospel, and they were judged by men according to the flesh, but lived by God according to the Spirit, and Jesus led captivity captive from Ephesians chapter 4, and I'm not going to get into all those details. That's one possible way of viewing this verse, but it also could be a reference to those who had received Jesus Christ,

but had been put to death for their faith. Men thought they were strange, spoke evil of them, judged them, put them to death, but they have life in Christ. So there's a couple of different ways you can wrestle with that and come up with your own ideas about it. But here's the point. What's Peter saying? We're to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ. To recognize and understand that we are going to suffer. Now suffering hurts us.

And God's not expecting us to pretend that life is not hard, that there's not difficulty. He's not expecting us to just pretend like everything's, you know, never a problem, never real issues. No, no. That's not what God expects from us. You can look at Jesus there in the Garden of Gethsemane as an example of that. He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He was in agony and He expressed it clearly. It wasn't complaining and grumbling about it, but it was expressed clearly.

He shared with his disciples, man, I'm hurting. This is hard. It's difficult. It's painful. God's not requiring that we pretend that life is not hard. What he does require is that like Christ, we trust him with our lives. There in the midst of that great trial and difficulty, Jesus said, not my will, but your will be done. He trusted God with his life. He trusted the Father. Put on the mind of Christ. Armor up. Prepare yourself.

You are going to suffer, but God is going to use it to free you from sin so that you can do His will. Arm yourself with the same mind. Secondly, this evening, I guess it's not evening yet. I plan to teach for a long time until the evening, and then that will apply, just so I don't have to correct myself. No, I'm just kidding. So, secondly, this morning, it's not even afternoon yet, pray seriously. Seriously, pray seriously.

Seriously. Look at verse 7. He says, But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. This may sound a little bit funny coming from Peter. If you remember...

Looking again at the scene there in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew chapter 26, Jesus is there with His disciples. He's in this great moment of agony and sorrow. He's getting ready and preparing Himself for the cross that He's going to bear and be crucified upon.

And he takes Peter, James, and John with him a little bit farther from the disciples. And he says, Hey guys, watch and pray with me. Man, I'm really hurting. I'm going through a real difficult time. This is really tough. Watch and pray with me. And Jesus goes off and he prays and he comes back and he finds Peter, James, and John sleeping. He asks them to watch and pray. They're sleeping. And so he wakes them up and says, Hey, what are you guys doing? Watch and pray with me. And he goes away again. And he comes back and he finds them sleeping again.

Three times Jesus said, watch and pray with me. And he found them sleeping. Specifically in verse 41, Jesus tells Peter, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Peter later on learned to watch and pray. And now he encourages us to be serious and watchful in our prayers. Why? Same reason that Jesus told him. Because our spirit is willing,

The flesh is weak. Our spirit is willing. We say, yes, I'm going to arm myself with the mind of Christ. But the flesh is weak and suffering begins. And so often we freak out and we forget all the things that God had just shown us. We go into a panic. Peter says, look, the end of all things is at hand. We have a limited amount of time. And so we need to be serious and watchful and

The end of all things is at hand. It's just as true today as it was when Peter wrote it. We're living in the last days. Everything is coming to an end. We have a limited amount of time. It's not time to mess around. It's time to be serious and watchful in our prayers. Now let me just ask you, and I don't mean to add guilt or condemnation upon you. Sometimes when we deal with the subject of prayer, we easily beat up ourselves in regards to prayer. But I want you to know

Let's just challenge ourselves for a moment. Consider your prayer life. Think about your prayer life. Think about your normal prayer habits. Serious, watchful. Are those good descriptions of your prayer life? Do those fit? The way that you pray, the when that you pray, the how that you pray. Do those fit your prayer life? Serious and watchful. Because the end of all things is at hand.

and we are going to suffer, and our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak, we must be serious and watchful in our prayers. The word serious, it means to be sober, to have a sound mind. It means to have self-control. The word watchful, it means to be calm and collected. The idea here is we're to pray with self-control, having a sound mind, being calm and collected.

Peter's saying, look, when you come to pray, I know you're suffering. I know it hurts. I know it's difficult and you have hardship, but don't panic. Don't be all freaked out. When you come to God, pray with self-control, being calm and collected. It doesn't mean we don't bring to God our hurts and the things that we're going through in the midst of the moment, but don't panic.

I think of, and it reminded me of the story of, in 2 Kings chapter 6, of Elisha's servant. Remember Elisha's servant? He's with Elisha. He's watching God work. Things are going great, man. So cool and exciting. Elisha has insight from God about the king of Assyria who's attacking the nation.

So he warns the king, hey, he's going to be an ambush over there. He's going to be camping over there. Watch out for him. Don't go that way. Go this way. And he's giving him all the insight. And the king of Syria finally has enough and says, man, I got to get this guy Elisha because I'm never going to be able to be victorious in battle. And so he sends his army and he surrounds or the army surrounds Elisha's house or where Elisha is staying. And Elisha's servant walks out in the morning to get the paper with his cup of coffee and

He drops it. It cracks on the sidewalk because all around them is this army. It's surrounded them. He runs in. Elisha! He says, alas, my master. What are we going to do? He's freaked out. He's in a panic. I mean, in my head at least. He's like, you know, his arms are flailing. His legs are going everywhere. He's running around in circles. What are we going to do? What does Elisha do? He says, Lord, would you open his eyes?

Calm, collected, not panicked, not freaked out. He knows he's in God's hand. Elisha's servants, his eyes are opened and he sees the army of the heavenly hosts surrounding that army that came to take Elisha. God is in control. That's the point here. You don't got to be freaked out. You don't got to be panicked. Pray in all things. Submit your request to God with prayer and thanksgiving. But you don't got to panic. Trust God. Be serious and watchful in your prayer.

Be serious about your time of prayer. James chapter 5 verse 13 tells us, If anyone among you is suffering, let him pray. Are you suffering? We need to pray. But when we're panicked, we often bring against God some railing accusations, accusing Him, Why would you let this happen in my life? We get upset with God. We get freaked out. Peter says, Look, in the midst of suffering, here's what you need to do. Have self-control.

Be calm and collected and spend time with God. Trust Him. Present your requests to Him. Let them be made known to Him. But don't accuse Him. Don't lose control. Compose yourself and spend time with the Lord. Thirdly, He tells us to love fervently. Look at verse 8. He says,

Here and now, in the midst of suffering, Peter says, love fervently. We're to love one another. Now, many times in the midst of suffering, there's a temptation, there's a desire, there's a tendency to withdraw from people. Because we're hurting. Because life is difficult, it's hard, we're in pain. And so often we will kind of step back. We don't want to talk about it, we don't want to express it. It's difficult to talk about, it's difficult to deal with.

And so there's a great tendency to withdraw from people. Sometimes we use it just as an excuse to sulk and pout and throw a pity party all by ourselves. Peter says, look, in the midst of suffering, while you're facing hardship, have a fervent love for one another. What happens when you fervently love someone? What does that look like? Can you remember a time when you had a fervent love for

Can you remember someone else in your life perhaps and you looking on and seeing and there's a fervent love there. There's an intensity. There's a passion about the way that they love that person. A fervent love is not something that you can keep hidden. It comes out. It's demonstrated. It's revealed. It's shown by how you talk about them and how you pay attention to them and how you treat them and how you go out of your way for them.

It's something that's obvious and demonstrated. It's revealed by the way that you treat them and relate to them. And this is how we're to treat one another as Christians in the midst of suffering and difficulty. Oh yeah, it's very easy in the midst of suffering and difficulty to lash out, to be rude, to be mean. It's easy to be short with people, to not pay them attention because I'm hurting. I'm going through hardship. But Peter says, love one another fervently.

And he explains a little bit further. He says,

Peter says, love one another fervently because love will cover a multitude of sins. As people sin against us, as we sin against people, our love for one another heals those hurts, mends those relationships. One Bible commentator named Wayne Grudem says this. I really like what he had to say. He says, where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offenses and even some large ones are readily overlooked and forgotten.

But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion. Every action is liable to misunderstanding and conflict, to Satan's perverse delight. He says, look, where there's love in a fellowship, when there's love between believers, many small offenses and even some large ones, they're overlooked. They're cast aside. Don't even worry about it. Forgiven. Forgotten. But where there's a lack of love, there's suspicion. What did you mean when you said that? Well,

Why did you say that? Why did you use that tone of voice? Why did you say it that way? Why did you do that? Every action is now liable to some misunderstanding and conflict. How come you did it that way? Or how come you made that decision? Love covers a multitude of sins. Yeah, we sin. And we bring suffering upon each other's lives. But God's good. Even though we bring suffering in each other's lives, God uses that.

As a tool, as an instrument that we cease from sin, that we do the will of God. He uses it to accomplish in us what needs to be accomplished. And so as we love one another fervently, as we pay attention to one another and talk about one another and build up one another and love on one another, it covers a multitude of sin. Proverbs 10, verse 12 says,

This is the verse that Peter's probably quoting as he shares this. It says, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. Hatred stirs up strife. Love does not stir up strife. Don't be deceived. Don't be confused. Love does not stir up strife. Love covers all sins. It covers a multitude of sins. When we're suffering, it's easy. It's tempting.

To bring up strife. Misery loves company, right? Make everybody else miserable. Be short with them. Don't pay attention to them. Be mean to them. That's what's normal. That's what's natural. But what God calls us to, what Peter is saying, when you're suffering, love one another fervently. Number four, be hospitable. Look at verse nine. He says, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Be hospitable. Now, do you see the trend of what Peter is saying here? Notice how

He doesn't say, you're suffering, you're in a lot of pain, you're going through great difficulty, so make sure that you accept whatever hospitality is offered to you. Is that what Peter says? No. He doesn't say, oh man, I know you're really going through really hard times, so make sure you receive love when other people want to love you and extend love to you. Make sure you receive that love.

That's not what Peter says. He says, you love. Yes, you're hurting. Yes, you're suffering. Yes, you're going through difficulty. You love others fervently, intensely, passionately. And not only that, but be hospitable. Reach out and meet the needs of others. In the midst of suffering, the best thing for you and I is to minister to others and to meet the needs of others.

of others. It's like what Jesus said in Mark 8, 35, whoever desires to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. If you try to save your life and you're using your cunning and your wits and your resources to try to save your life and remove yourself from suffering or to meet your needs, if you try to, in your own effort, deal with this, you're going to lose it. But if you'll lose your life for his sake,

To be obedient to Him. To love fervently. To be hospitable. To put on the mind of Christ. You'll find it when you're suffering, when you're hurting. Be hospitable. Love fervently. The word hospitable means to be generous to guests. Now, that can be generosity regarding food or lodging or clothing, whatever the need may be.

Be generous to others. And he says, without grumbling, and that's a key right there, without grumbling, that's a little bit more difficult. I really like the word grumbling because it reminds me of what really takes place sometimes. The word grumbling, it means a secret debate. You ever had those secret debates? Especially in regard to hospitality. You know, you're conflicted. Well, should I really give this guy this five dollars? I

Man, I could really use a hamburger right about now. I need a pair of shoes. I could really use this for... Oh man, I'd so much rather just kind of be kicked back on the couch and watching a good movie. I don't want to entertain guests and have people over and serve a dinner. Oh man, I'm conflicted. I'm debating secretly within. You've had those debates, I'm sure. He says, be hospitable without grumbling.

Don't grumble. Don't have those secret debates. Be single-minded. I'm just going to give of myself. I'm going to lose my life for His sake. Yeah, I'm suffering. I'm miserable. I have pain and issues and difficulty. Yeah, I'm hurting. But this is what God has instructed me to do. I'm going to be generous. Number five, Peter says, use your gift. Look at verse 10.

He says, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. And again, we see the trend of what Peter is saying. Not, hey, you're hurting, make sure that you receive love, but instead, love fervently. He doesn't say, oh, you're hurting, make sure that you accept hospitality whenever it's offered to you. Never refuse a free meal. No, he says, be hospitable. Reach out and meet the needs of others. And again,

He doesn't say, oh, you're hurting. Oh, man, I feel so sorry for you. Make sure you receive gifts whenever people want to give them to you. He says, use your gift. He doesn't say, oh, you're hurting. Make sure you go to church, but just go because you need to be ministered to. That's why you go to church. That's not why you go to church. That's part of it. That's an element of that. The reason why we gather together is so that we can be obedient to the one another verses, that we can use the gifts that God has given to us.

He doesn't say, oh, make sure you receive gifts and receive the ministry of others to you. But he says, use your gifts. You're suffering. You're hurting. You've got pain. You've got difficulty. Life is tough. Use the gifts that God has given to you. Every Christian, Peter says, has a spiritual gift. Each one has a gift. Every one of us. There's not a Christian who doesn't have a gift. There's a gift that is given to

A spiritual gift that is given to every believer. Every believer is a member of the body of Christ and is therefore supernaturally equipped to fill their role. Supernaturally. Now, I'm not going to get into the gifts. You can study those on your own. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Ephesians chapter 4, Romans chapter 12. We have spiritual gift studies on the website as well that you can listen to and further examine these things.

But the point is, every one of us has a spiritual gift. And so he says, minister it to one another. Minister it. Use it, he says. It's a spiritual gift, but it must be exercised. And it's developed by use, much like a muscle. The muscles are developed as you use them. And they get stronger the more that you use them. And if you stop using them, then they begin to get weaker. In the same way, use your gifts, he says.

You've received a gift, so use it. Minister it to one another. Seek out opportunities to use it. Develop it as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Understand, you have received the grace of God. Grace is something that God does for us or gives to us through no merit of our own. We don't deserve it. We don't earn it. We can't. We don't earn spiritual gifts.

We're stewards of the manifold grace of God. Be a good steward of the grace that God has given to you. You have a spiritual gift. It's of incredible value. It's vital for the body of Christ. Ephesians chapter 4 explains that the body of Christ only grows as each member uses the gifts that God has given to it. It does the role that God has placed it within the body of Christ.

The gift that God has given to you is not insignificant, not minuscule. Although you might feel that way, it's not. It's valuable. It's extremely valuable. It's the most valuable thing that you have aside from salvation. Be a good steward of it. You have this incredibly valuable instrument, tool, gift. Be a good steward of it. Use it. Put it to use. Don't let it just sit there.

But actively seek out opportunity to use the gift that God has given to you. Now you might say, well, I don't know what gift God has given to me and I don't know my role within the body of Christ. Well, there's a great opportunity for you to be serious and watchful in your prayer and seek God and find out, God, what do you want me to do? And what have you gifted me to do? And how do you want me to fulfill my role within the body of Christ? And let God work that out in your life because He has gifted you.

And it's incredibly valuable, more valuable than we can know. So be a good steward. Don't waste it by just letting it sit there. But use it for the glory of God. Verse 11, he says, If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Here Peter's explaining gifts are not your natural abilities and talents. So don't try to do it in your own strength. You know, some people are just naturally talented at certain things. And that's good and that's wonderful and you can use those talents for the glory of God. But the gifts that he's talking about, spiritual gifts, are not natural abilities. They're not natural talents. They're supernatural talents.

They're given by the power of God, by the Spirit of God. And so he says, look, if anyone speaks, if the gift that God has given to you is a speaking gift, you have the gift of encouragement or exhortation or teaching, he says, do so as speaking the oracles of God. Bring forth the Word of God, the message of God. Don't just speak forth your own ideas and your thoughts and what you think, your opinions. No, you speak.

Meet with God. You get with God. You hear from God and bring forth the message of God to those that He's called you to minister to. He says, if anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies. If you have a ministering gift, helps, administration, giving, whatever the case may be, don't do it in your own strength, with your own ability. No. Go beyond your strength and do it in the ability which God supplies. Why? He explains. Why?

You see, the point and the purpose of using our gifts and the gifts that God has given to us is that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. What do we see? Going back, chapter 2, verse 11. That when those around us stand before God, they glorify God because of how we lived, because of what we did. That's the purpose of our lives.

That's the objective. That's the goal. That in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The goal is for my life to glorify Him. So if I use my gifts for my own glory, it's a misuse of the gifts. If I use my gifts with my own resources, I say, well, I don't need to pray about this one. I know the answer here. I know what God wants to say. It's a misuse. But if I hear from God and I pass on and I speak forth the message that God spoke to me and gave to me,

then God is glorified. And you recognize and you know that's not from Jerry. He couldn't come up with that. I talked to him before. That's from God. That's how God has called us to live. He's called us to be good stewards and use the gifts that God has given to us with the ability that He gives to us, with the resources that He gives to us, relying upon Him so that He is glorified. When it comes to suffering, it's not our favorite topic. It's not our favorite thing in the world.

But it is a reality. And since Christ suffered, I am going to suffer too. So I need to be ready. I need to arm myself with the same mind. Preparing myself. I'm going to suffer. So that when it comes, I'm not shocked. I'm not freaked out. I'm not panicked. But I can be serious and watchful in my prayers.

And I can purpose, I can choose, I can make the decision to love fervently and be hospitable and use the gifts that God has given to me because the suffering that I experience, God is using in my life for that purpose that I would cease from sin and that I would do the will of God. Let's pray. God, we thank you.

that you are so good to us that even the difficulties and hardships and pains that happen in our life, Lord, you use them for good. And you accomplish through them things of eternal value in our lives. Thank you, God, for not allowing those things to be meaningless and without purpose. And so, God, I ask that you would help us to trust you. Help us, God, to arm ourselves with that mind, knowing, God, that we will suffer, but that we're in your hands.

that you're in control and that you're using it to accomplish in us, to finish the good work that you began in us. And I pray, God, that as we suffer, as we face difficulty and great pain and agony, Lord, that we would not be consumed with ourselves and our own problems. Lord, that every conversation would not be about us and an opportunity for us to express about us and what we're going through and what we're experiencing. But Lord, that we would die to ourselves.

Lord, that we would look around to the needs of others, that we would love them fervently and be generous to them, to meet their needs and minister to them using the gifts that you've given to us. God, when suffering comes, help us not to panic, but help us to trust in you, to be serious and watchful as we spend time with you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.