Sylvania Wesleyan Church 1
Sunday Morning 4/26

      • Romans 12:2NIV2011

  • Good Morning. I am so glad that we can be gathered together to worship this morning.
    Have you ever had a Horrible day before?
    I mean come on we all have had one of those days in life.
    When I think of a Horrible day I think about a children’s book that some of you may know.
    This is what happens when you have a wife who is a teacher.
    Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad day.
    To give you a basic idea on how this story goes.
    Let me share with you the start of Alexanders Day.
    “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
    How many of you have had a day start out like that?
    Maybe we don’t sleep with gum in our mouth but its possible that we might wake up and realize quickly its going to be a rough day.
    Suffering in life happens but how we respond to it is important for us as Christians. Let’s keep that in mind as we read this mornings passaage.
    1 Peter 2:19–25 NIV
    19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
    One of the greatest challenges we face when we read these passages today especially for us here in America is we have a Suffering Problem.

    Suffering Problem

    The Suffering problem we have is not what you think.
    Let’s begin with understanding the context of this passage in particular.
    Go back one verse and let’s read this together.
    1 Peter 2:18 NIV
    18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
    The Primary context of those who are suffering are Slaves, or servants.
    Well here again we have another problem in America.
    When we hear the word slaves we think the history of America and our understanding of slaves but we must remember to read this passage as it would have been read to Peter’s Audience because slaves in Roman times were very different than what we understand today.

    Slave or Servant

    Now there can be some translation challenges that comes from this passage which is one of our first challenges.
    The Word used for Slaves is Oiketes this a term that is synonymous with Doulos which is a more commonly used word for servant/slave in the New Testament.
    The use of the word Oiketes suggests that this is a servant within a household. This is why you will see variation in translation across different Bibles.
    Yet, again we have the problem of what happened in the history of our country and how we immediately view slaves or even servants.
    When we think of Slavery we think of the large agricultural view of slavery that dominated our country. Terrible working conditions hard manual labor and miserable treatment of human beings.
    In 1st Century roman culture this was still a common thing for many slaves but it wasn’t the only place you would find slavery. In fact, there are numbers out there that suggests that across the entire Roman empire that 1 in 5 people were slaves. In Italy specifically there are numbers as high as 1 in 3. That is a significant portion of the population.
    If you dig into the history of this you will find varying reports and views on what conditions were like for Slaves but we can safely say is that the core nature of slavery is the remove of you freedom to do as you wish. This creates suffering and hardship.
    Yet, slaves at that time could also be skilled labor. they were not limited to just manual labor. There was a large amount of skilled labor amongst the slave population. Slavery was still not where people would want to find themselves but our predisposition to how we were raised and our own countries atrocities in slavery are not the same as those in the 1st Century.
    This is all to be said and remind you that we often have to read passages from the perspective of the 1st century reader not our own historical biases.
    This also applies to our view of suffering.

    Suffering Problem

    The truth is that when we think of suffering in America we take on a very Alexander approach.
    I slept with Gum in my hair and now I have to deal with that.
    Okay maybe not quite that. Maybe it matches something like this.
    I can’t get the new “Insert item here” because I don’t have enough money.
    My boss passed me up for a promotion
    I had to skip dinner because I was so busy.
    There are so many trivial “sufferings” in our lives.
    Listen I don’t want to make light of the annoyance of having a bad day. We all have them and I don’t like being in them anymore than you do. Yet, we can also be honest in that many of us look at the things that happen in our life and we can say that we have it easier than many people in this world.
    There are plenty in this world who face circumstances worse than what many of us experience. This also translates to us as and how we view suffering in our own lives.
    Let’s look at v. 19 and 20 again
    1 Peter 2:19–20 NIV
    19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
    What then do we do with this passage as we read it. How does this apply to us today?

    Unjust Suffering

    We can be honest in saying that some people may face unjust suffering in this life. Though what defines unjust suffering is important for us as believers.
    Unjust suffering can be thought of this way. Doing good honoring God in all circumstances and yet we are punished for it.
    The example that comes to mind is when I was working in retail when I was a lot younger and I was a regular floor associate. I was encourage to lie to sell more warranties to help boost profits.
    I told my manager I would not lie but i would work hard to sell more warranties.
    This was met with frustration and some thinly veiled threats. I can say that I didn’t face more suffering than that though for doing what is right. That is the whole being honest about the level of suffering. I didn’t lose my job but I did work. I managed to out sell the entire district in warranty sales that quarter and without lying.
    I could have suffered greatly but I didn’t I wanted to honor God and live my life accordingly. I didn't want to lie because my heart and mind were set on God and how he wanted me to live that will be commended before him.
    One of the other challenges we face today is that many of us will do wrong and then endure the consequences of our choices and think we are suffering.
    God why am I going through “Insert problem here”, yet all the choices that led to that problem were a result of our failures. We must endure the tough times but we also must recognize our choices in the moment.
    There is one area that as Christians in our situation need to recognize more than most.
    We are witnesses to the world of suffering in the world. I hope that we can agree that we have access to more information and faster than almost anyone in the world. This gives us the responsibility to speak to the suffering we see in the world and to do something about it.
    Growing up I remember the first time I read a book on Martyrs of the church. I sat and I read these stories and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I thought it would be good to share one with you of Christians that are suffering for Christ today.

    Columbia

    Distributing Bibles in Colombia’s guerrilla territory requires the mind of a chess master. Every move must be analyzed and the opponent’s countermoves anticipated.
    Although Bible distribution is legal in Colombia, armed rebel groups roam the country’s rural areas as a law unto themselves. Paramilitaries and guerrilla groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) resent Christians because they refuse to participate in the drug trade or fight for their causes. The rebel groups also view anyone traveling through their territory, where they often grow and smuggle narcotics, as a threat.
    A ministry team traveled deep into the jungles of Putumayo department, along the border with Ecuador and Peru, to distribute full-color Action Bibles and minister to church workers. The Bibles, which feature colorful illustrations in the style of a graphic novel, appeal not only to children but also to adults who may have trouble reading a traditional Bible.
    After traveling many hours by car, the team transferred their supplies to motorcycles and rode for 20 minutes before reaching a river. They then loaded the motorcycles, Bibles and supplies onto a river ferry for a two-hour trip upriver. After leaving the ferry, they rode their packed motorcycles as far as they could before again transferring their loads to mules.
    The objective of their travel through the rugged terrain of Colombia was a simple wooden church with a thatched roof. “These communities are surrounded by armed rebel groups,” a front-line worker said. “They are the ones who have the authority in the region. A few meters from the church is a former coca cultivation area. The brothers from the church tell us that in the deepest part of the region there are still coca crops that sustain the rebel groups.”
    The simple church, which had no electricity, served as a retreat center for 30 pastors who had gathered from throughout the region. Many had walked for hours to reach the site, and all of them serve in lonely, remote locations under highly stressful conditions.
    The host church had improvised bathing “facilities” in a nearby stream and strung hammocks between the church rafters for beds. At the end of each evening’s two-hour church service, the generator was shut off and “an infinite blackness fell,” the front-line worker said.
    Over the course of three days, the pastors participated in leadership training and enjoyed fellowship with one another. “It was moving to see the faith of each of these pastors,” the front-line worker said. “They were motivated by the need to be in communion with other brothers in the faith.”
    At the end of the retreat, the pastors each received a box of Bibles to share with their local church. While they knew it might be months or years before they gathered again, they also knew they were now better equipped to serve their communities. “It is because of the people that we can say that the faith in this entire region has been strengthened despite the difficulties, the scourges of war,” the front-line worker said. “They continue to persevere in Christ.”
    With physical loads lightened and hearts lifted by the courage and faith of their Christian brothers and sisters, the ministry team made its way back home by mule, motorcycle, ferry and car. Soon, they would begin analyzing tactics for their next move on the Colombian chessboard.
    Many of us travel miles to come to church but we hop in a car and drive down the road. Imagine being so devoted to the church that you would risk death, and suffering to deliver bibles and to have time to fellowship with one another.
    Makes one realize that the inconvenience of getting up in time for church is kinda minor now doesn’t it.
    We have a suffering problem in the church today. We think that we are in so much hardship yet for us we have to remember that when we suffer for God we can praise his name. That we will be blessed when we face difficulties and we keep our minds focused on him.
    Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV
    1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
    We are called to be reminded that there are so many that are running the race with us that we are to cast off the hardship and the view of suffering that we might face and embrace the idea that we are to be disciplined in our faith and following after him.

      • 1 Peter 2:19–25NIV2011

      • 1 Peter 2:18NIV2011

      • 1 Peter 2:19–20NIV2011

      • Hebrews 12:1–2NIV2011

Sylvania Wesleyan Church 1
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