Sunday's Message: Being the Church in a Challenging World (The Church Endures)

The First Letter of Peter was written to a church which was confronting certain challenges that it neither chose nor wanted. You see, they were living within a society that didn't share their focus and faith; therefore, they were facing the temptation to compromise what they believed, a situation that seems very similar to what we face as we try to be the church of Jesus Christ within a society that doesn't understand our fundamental values and motivation. And that's the reason we'll look at what Peter had to say about how Christians might be the church in a challenging world. 

• The Church Praises (1 Peter 1:3-9) - April 16
• The Church Remembers (1 Peter 1:17-23) - April 23
• The Church Grows (1 Peter 2:2-10) - April 30
• The Church Resists (1 Peter 2:11-17) - May 7
• The Church Follows (1 Peter 2:19-25) - May 14
• The Church Endures (1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11) - May 21

During the sixth message in this series, we used 1 Peter 4:12-14 and 5:6-11 to consider how, when faced with a challenging world, the church can endure. Below is a copy and recording of the sermon. Next Sunday morning, you can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

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Now just in case you didn’t realize it, this morning we’re officially coming to the end of what’s called the Season of Easter. Of course, I recognize that’s usually not the way we generally see it. I mean, for most of us, Easter is over when the last of the dyed egg is finally thrown away and the last marshmallow peep is finally eaten and the last little bit of plastic straw is finally vacuumed up. Now, for most of us, that’s when Easter is over, but that’s not how the church has viewed the Season of Easter over the centuries, because traditionally it runs from Easter Sunday through the Ascension of the Lord ending on Pentecost. And brothers and sisters, since the day marking the Ascension was last Thursday and Pentecost will be next Sunday, we’re officially putting a bow on Easter 2023 this morning.

But, of course, that’s not the only thing we’re finishing today. You see, since, in the past, during the Season of Easter, Christians have sort of focused on the church, over the last five weeks, we’ve been using the first letter of Peter to think about how we can be the church in the face of a challenging world. And over that time, we’ve talked about how the Body of Christ can praise and remember and how it can grow and resist. And then last week, we looked at how it can follow, you know, how we can follow Jesus Christ by repenting because we trust that in the end, God will bless us. Now that’s the stuff we’ve been talking about during our Easter season. 

But you know, it’s interesting. Even if we’re able to pull it off and we decide that we’re going to praise and remember, grow and resist and of course follow, even if we do all that stuff, although we may change in a whole bunch of ways, there’s one thing that probably won’t change at all: we’re still going to face a challenging world. And as we’ve talked about before, it really doesn’t matter whether we see the primary challenge being declining public morality or declining basic compassion or declining social relevance, I’ve got a gut feeling that most of us would agree that the challenges we face aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, right? And you know, because that sure seems to be the case, I think it’s easy, and I mean really easy just to give in and to give up, in other words, to recognize that, in spite of our best efforts, certain things are inevitable, you know, like death and taxes. I mean, we have a ready-made excuse simply to shrug our shoulders, and then either to stop trying to swim against the current or to retreat behind the stained glass. I’ll tell you, in the face of a challenging world, I think doing that kind of thing is really tempting, isn’t it? But you know, if that’s what we choose to do, I think we’re still left with a pretty uncomfortable question. I mean, somewhere down the line, I believe we’re going to have to ask ourselves if this is really what we were called to be and commanded to do? Now, in my opinion, that’s the question, and if we’re really honest with ourselves, I think we all know the answer, don’t we? 

And I’ll tell you, that’s the reason we’re going to tie up this series by looking at some scripture that Peter used to tie up his first letter, a couple of passages that focus on how, in the face of a challenging world, the church can endure. In other words, for the next ten minutes or so, we’re going to talk about three things we can choose to do whenever we feel ready to either give in or to give up. And for each one, we’ll look at the what and the how and the why.

For example, first, when faced with a challenging world, the church can endure by being realistic, realistic in its expectations, and I’m talking about being brutally honest in what we can expect as we try to do the best we can with what we’ve got. And I think that was exactly what Peter had in mind when he wrote this:

Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.

Count it a blessing when you suffer for being a Christian. This shows that God’s glorious Spirit is with you. [1 Peter 4:12-14, CEV]

Now that’s what he said, and when you think about how it can be done, you know, how we can be realistic in our expectations, I think it really comes down to two commands, one negative and one positive. I mean, we really never should be surprised, you know, surprised when we’re feeling a little heat, even when it seems as though we’ve having to walk through fire. Man, we shouldn’t be shocked when our faith is tested. As a matter of fact, we probably should actually be glad for the chance, for the privilege of experiencing a little bit of what our savior endured.  In fact, it’s sort of like something Peter wrote a little bit earlier in his letter: 

You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. [1 Peter 1:5-7, CEV]

Now that’s what Peter wrote. You see, for him, realistically, we really shouldn’t be surprised that we might suffer because of Jesus; instead we should be glad that God’s given us the chance to suffer with him. 

And why, why should we be realistic as we deal with the difficulties and discomforts that we might face following Jesus Christ through a world which is constantly telling us that we should be first and that losers come in last, why should we do it? Well, I think it all comes down to what the suffering actually is. You see, in the sight of God, it’s not a punishment or a sign of weakness. Instead, according to Peter, it’s a blessing. It’s actually a blessing from God himself, because “[it] shows that God’s glorious spirit is with [us],” [1 Peter 4:14b, CEV] And I’ll tell you, when you think about it, that actually makes sense. I mean, God wants his children to be strong and to be focused and to be faithful, and it’s by facing the problems and enduring the pain that we get toughened up. It’s like every coach I’ve ever had would tell us as he was trying to get us into some kind of shape: No pain, no gain. Now that’s what I think Peter was saying here. And you know, this isn’t all that different from what he wrote in chapter three: 

Can anyone really harm you for being eager to do good deeds? Even if you have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop being afraid and don’t worry about what people might do. Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. [1 Peter 3:13-15, CEV]

Simply put, we must be realistic, realistic in our expectations. And for Peter, I think that’s the first way we can endure. But of course, that’s not all.

Because, when faced with a challenging world, the church must also be humble, humble in its relationship with God, and I’m talking about how it sees itself when standing next to the Almighty. According to Peter, I think that’s the second way the church can endure. And I’ll tell you, I believe that’s exactly what we see in Peter’s first letter when he wrote this:

Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. [1 Peter 5:6-7, CEV]

Now that’s what he said. In other words, when it comes to God, man, we’ve got to put aside some of the arrogance that’s kind of crept into Christianity now-a-days. Of course, I understand how this happened. In fact, I think it’s pretty understandable for believers to feel a sense of pride when they’ve been told that their whole relationship with Jesus Christ is grounded on the fact that they’ve found God, as though the Lord and Creator of Universe is like a senile old man who somehow got lost in the mall and when they’ve been taught that God is incapable of saving anyone without them asking and allowing him to do it. With that kind of stuff floating around, how could some Christians not be at least a little proud? And yet, this isn’t the attitude that God wants us to have, certainly not when we’re in his presence, is it? Instead he wants us to be humble, assuming that same attitude with him that Peter said young people should have when approaching their elders. He wrote, 

All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say,

“God opposes proud people,

but he helps everyone

    who is humble.” [1 Peter 5:5, CEV]

Even though, in our modern world, arrogance is often rewarded, God wants his children to be humble.

And the reason why he wants us to have this attitude, in fact, the reason why it just makes sense to turn from the world and to turn to God, well, it’s because we can be sure that God will honor those who are humble when the time comes, but also because we can trust that he takes care of us right now. You see, God loves us and God listens to us; therefore, we really don’t need to worry. I’ll tell you, it’s like Jesus said to his disciples:

I tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. Can worry make you live longer? If you don’t have power over small things, why worry about everything else? [Luke 12:22b-26, CEV]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: God couldn’t love us more than he does right now. But brace yourselves, it’s not because of us; it’s because of him. You see, it’s because “God is love.” [1 John 4:8a, CEV] I’m telling you, as we try to make our way through this world, we must be humble, humble in our relationship with God. And for Peter, I think that’s the second way we can endure.

And third, in the face of all the challenges that out there, the church can endure by being alert, alert as it does its work. In other words, as the church continues to do what it’s been called and equipped to do, something we’ll talk about next week, we need to be aware of what we actually face and who is there to help us. We need to be alert. And I think this was what Peter was getting at when he wrote this:

Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are. But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That’s why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. God will be in control forever! Amen. [1 Peter 5:8-11, CEV]

Now that’s what Peter wrote, and just think about what it means. Right now, we really need to be on our guard and to be wide awake. We need to put aside the distractions and the confusion so that we can keep our eyes on the prize and keep our focus on the one who put us on this path in the first place. In fact, it’s a lot like what Peter already said in the first chapter of his letter when he wrote this:

Be alert and think straight. Put all your hope in how God will treat you with undeserved grace when Jesus Christ appears. Behave like obedient children. Don’t let your lives be controlled by your desires, as they used to be. Always live as God’s holy people should, because God is the one who chose you, and he is holy. That’s why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.” [1 Peter 1:13-16, CEV]

Now in my opinion, that was Peter’s definition of being alert.

And why should we do it? Why should we be on guard and awake? Why should we be alert and thinking straight? Well, I believe it’s grounded in a recognition that, in a very real sense, both the present and the future are out of our hands. I mean, whether we like it or not, right now, the devil is alive and active in our world. And even though, like a lion, he’s always making a lot of noise and looking for someone to attack, he’s actually more like a paper lion, because little old us, we have the power to resist him and to stay firm in our faith. As a matter of fact, in spite of what we see in a whole bunch of horror movies, the only real power the devil has is to whisper in our ears and to distract us from being the men and women God called and created us to be. But I’ll tell you, his ability to mislead us, man, he’s really good at tempting and distracting, and that’s why we need to be on our guard and awake. Now that’s what we face in the present. But I’ll tell you, that seems like nothing when we compare it to what waits for us in the future. You see, in spite of us doing our very best to mess it up, the future belongs to God. And without our permission or help, our destinies are in his loving and gracious hands. And as Peter wrote, 

But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That’s why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. God will be in control forever! Amen. [1 Peter 5:10-11, CEV]

Of course, according to Peter, that’s going to happen whether we want it to or not. But think about it, wouldn’t it be wonderful to get a glimpse of our future right here and now? But to resist the devil and to catch this vision, man, we need to be alert, alert as we do our work. And I think that’s the third way we can endure.

Like I said back at the beginning of this message, we’re nearing the end of the 2023 Easter season. And next week, we’ll look at the coming of the Holy Spirit and how that Spirit still empowers us to do the work we’ve been called to do. But before we move forward, let’s take just a minute to consider where we’ve been and where we are. You see, whether we like it or not, we face a challenging world, one that can wear us out and break us down, if we’re not careful. And for that reason, as the Body of Christ, claiming the words of Peter, right here and now, we can choose to praise and to remember, to grow and to resist, to follow and to endure by being realistic and humble and alert. You see, in my opinion, that’s how we can be the church in a challenging world.