Rejoice in my suffering....What???

Do you ever feel like you are the only one walking down the straight and narrow, and it seems like no one else is around? Do you ever feel like your the only Christian around and you always get made fun of for your faith? Are you ashamed to admit you are a Christian because you don't want to be a "social outcast". Well take a look at this!!

1 Peter 4:12-19

12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"[a]
19So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

First of all we can't be shocked if we are made fun of or are persecuted just for being Christians. But we are supposed to rejoice in these times of suffering because Christ was suffered in the same way. Why does this seem so hard to do? Who wants to praise God while they are being put to death for believing in Him. Now I know in America it isn't everyday that Christians are killed for there faith, but it does happen. I know I probably wouldn't want to praise God if I am being put to death for believing in Him. Would you?

This passage also says that you are blessed if you are insulted for believing in Christ. How in the world is that a blessing? Look at what it says in Matthew 5:11-12 about this :

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Shouldn't this change the way we feel after we get made fun of for something like this. Like it doesn't matter our reward will be great in heaven.

And when we are being made fun of for being a Christian we should not be ashamed and have our heads down. We need to keep them up and praise God that we follow Him. We need to continue to pursue after Christ no matter what the world says or does to us. Just wanted to challenge you guys with that today.

Material Possessions vs. God

Today I want to talk about a passage I have been reading a lot of lately and have been studying this and this has become very interesting to me. I think we can all relate to the passage because a lot of times we have those material possessions that we so dearly hold on to. But in actuality they mean nothing. We just don't seem to realize that.



Matthew 19:16-30



"16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18"Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,'[d] and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'[e]"
20"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
28Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[f] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."

First I want to talk about how the rich young man asked what must he do to inherent eternal life. He was thinking about good deeds. It is amazing how many people in the world we live in think you can go to heaven just by doing good things. This is not true!! You need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Verse 21- The Greek word for perfect means goal or end. So He said if you want to make it to the goal or end he needs to sell everything and give to the poor. Now there is no indication if this was meant for all Christians. You may ask why did Jesus say this then. It is about the rich man's attachment to His wealth and his possessions. In the Bible it says man cannot serve two masters both God and money. When the rich man was told to sell everything he was so sad because he was so attached.

I think a lot of times we are so attached to material things or money we forget about God. We think we have everything under control when we have money or possessions. Truth is we don't. We don't have the most important thing and that is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now after Jesus talks about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven you might ask the same thing as the disciples. But I love the response Jesus gives. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. This is what is says in the version the message (Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it"). I just think that is awesome. You can't pull it off yourself. So put your hope in Christ not material possessions.

And I just going to leave it off by having you reread verses 28-30. Listen to what He promises for us if we leave what we have to follow Him. That should be enough to challenge you right there. Verse 29.