This week, Pastor Matthew took us through 1 Peter 4:12-19. Within this Scripture, Peter brings warning, correction and hope in an attempt to shift the perspective of the Gentile believers and their experience of hard times.
How we go through hard times matters, and we need to see them as an opportunity for God to do an amazing work in us and through us.
Matthew's three main points were:
Hard times are going to happen, guaranteed.
We should not be surprised when hard times come, as we are living in warfare. We are going to get hit and we need to prepare for that. When we suffer, we need to identity with the sufferings of Christ and see it as an opportunity to draw into Him. If we learn to do this, we win and have victory.
2. If hard times are guaranteed, then make sure they are for the right reasons.
The Spirit of God and of His glory rests on us. We need to wrap our minds around that fact and rid ourselves of hated, bitterness and unforgiveness. They will ruin us, and they will make us suffer for things that are not worthy of our time.
We are called to look like Jesus, and we need not suffer for anything outside of being like Him.
3. Trust in God and do good.
We have to fully lean on God and give our lives completely to Him. No more luke-warm, on-the-fence Christianity. We need to live differently and righteously for His sake, as His ambassadors.
We need to work hard at giving our lives away on behalf of the Gospel.
