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1 Peter · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Tonight we're going to be talking about persecution. And one of my favorite books, and Connie actually brought some of them in the back, is this book called The Heavenly Man, if you've never read it. It's a remarkable true story of a Chinese pastor and Christian. It's amazing. I also love this book by Randy Alcorn. It's called Safely Home. It is fictional, but it is powerful. And I have some friends who are missionaries in China.
• 0:29
  And so I asked them what they thought of this book, and they said it's pretty close to true. So there's some freedom taken in the book, but I think that it's powerful. I also, I don't know if all of you have heard of the Fox's Book of Martyrs. This is the newer version. If you don't have this or have never heard of it, you might want to look into it. There are newer versions and older versions also.
• 1:00
  Kind of a take on Fox's Book of Martyrs is this book called Jesus Freaks. It's written by Voice of Martyrs and DC Talk. I will be using it tonight. And then this one, not necessarily about persecution, but I love this book. And I felt like I should just tell you, I use it a lot in my devotionals. I feel like we need to know the people.
• 1:27
  And I'm going to talk about this. We need to know some of the Christians that have gone before us. This is called 50 People Every Christian Should Know. I'm sure there's tons of this type of book. I like how easy this one is to read. So oftentimes I will read about one of the biographies with whatever it is that I'm reading that morning. Okay? I got that out of the way. Okay. I'm going to read the verses first. So let's go to 1 Peter. We're almost done with 1 Peter.
• 2:00
  It's the end of chapter 4 and then next week chapter 5. And then you don't have to listen to me for a long time. So that's good. We're going to read chapter 4 starting in verse 12. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
• 2:27
  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. But let him glory God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.
• 2:47
  And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Okay, I'm going to pray that my voice will stop. So let's pray. God, thank you, thank you, thank you for how you've met with me this past month. Thank you for these verses.
• 3:19
  Lord, I pray that they would change my life. And I pray for the women in here that it would change their lives too, Lord. That we would figure out how to be stewards of your suffering in a way that we can pray and go before and on behalf of other believers who are suffering throughout the world. Lord, help us to have your mind tonight, your thoughts, Lord, and change us for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 3:49
  Stephanie, do you mind bringing me my water? My mouth is dry. Yeah, it's water. Don't worry. Never mind. It's real water. Okay. On the notes that I gave you, it says, why so serious? So this is my introduction. I just thought I should tell you why and why I feel like the Spirit pushed me in this direction. So I have three reasons why. And I put why so serious.
• 4:21
  And what I mean is, what we're talking about tonight is heavy. And I guess it's God's verses. It's the Bible, right? It's what he wants us to hear. But for me, it went in a certain direction. And this is why I think it did. Number one, because I think persecution is on the horizon. I think it's coming. It's coming. Maybe it won't be your life or my life, but our kids' lives, our grandkids' lives, persecution is on the horizon. Number two.
• 4:55
  Why so serious? Because I want us to be informed. I want us to be informed. I don't want us to be ignorant American believers. We simply cannot walk around with blinders on. Do you remember? I'm going to be referring back to last week's verses because they're so tied together, right? The end is near. We don't have time. We don't have time to walk around like this, right? We need to be informed.
• 5:25
  And the reason we need to be informed is why. So we can go to battle. And our verses last week told us how we battle. Do you remember? We pray. We need to be informed so we can pray. I read this quote. One of the greatest challenges to effective prayer is lack of knowledge. You need to know to understand so you can pray. Let's look. You can write down James 5.16.
• 5:55
  And you can turn there if you want. Oh, I went the wrong way. Sorry. I always do that. I feel like Hebrews and James fall out of my Bible. James, chapter 5, verse 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Right? We need to be informed so we can pray. And we need to know. I don't know how it all works.
• 6:31
  I honestly don't. It baffles my mind. But God uses it. So do it. Right? The third one. So, persecution is on the horizon. Number two, we need to be informed. Number three is a little more lengthy. I want us to understand the religious freedom and faith we experience today came down to us on a sea of blood. How we get to worship, where we get to worship, what we get to do.
• 7:05
  It came at a cost. I don't know how you want to write that in your neat little tidy number three line. But that is one of the reasons why I'm so serious tonight. So a couple years ago, five or six years ago, I was in Oxford, England. I know, that's rough. It's beautiful there. And I had always wanted to go there, and I got to go encourage a missionary friend that was there. And they took us touring around Oxford.
• 7:33
  If you don't know much about Oxford, it is the birthplace of much biblical knowledge. People who you may not even know, that you know stuff about the Bible, learned the Bible there. I mean, it's a big deal place to our Christian religion. And we were walking around, some friends, the missionaries, and then some friends that came too. And we were just in a shopping area, and Alan...
• 8:02
  The missionary stopped us and he said, look, this spot, and it's just white brick. There's a very famous, it really is just an outdoor shopping area. And there's the famous English store, I can remember, on the right. And then on the left, there's just this subtle cross on the wall. Have any of you seen this or been there? Okay. On the ground, I think it's on the ground. I tried to text them to see if they would tell me because I can't remember it correctly because it was so startling to me. There's bricks that are charred.
• 8:30
  And it is where Ridley and Latimer, those are just their last names, were burned at the stake for heresy, for not giving in to the church. And so, Church of England, these bricks are still there. And there's hundreds of people walking around, hundreds of people. And just a little subtle cross, there's a monument to Ridley and Latimer, I don't know, down the road.
• 8:59
  Very precise directions. Down the road, there's this monument. But there, they made this edict that they would not scrub the bricks. For since 1555, this mark is still there. And I was watching all these people walking around. And Alan, who is actually, he's American, went to Oxford and then did some tours in Oxford for a job, for a side job, which is funny. But he told us that hardly anybody there knows.
• 9:30
  why that is there, unless they went to go study it. It's very subtle, and yet it is. I mean, it was crazy to me that it was there. And you can look them up if you want to, Ridley and Latimer, and read about what they went through and what they did. But that was when we were in Oxford. It's startling that it's the birthplace of so much of what we believe and our religious freedom and how dark it is now.
• 10:00
  and how many of these beautiful cathedrals are empty. We went to one. They have a college Bible study. They actually have been kicked out of Oxford since then as missionaries. But a beautiful building, old, old, stained glass. And we went to their Bible study. Only two kids came, two college kids. And this building literally sits empty. It's a chapel all the rest of the year. It's just storage. Nobody uses it for anything.
• 10:29
  It's just really interesting. So in the attempt to share with you the stories I've been listening to and reading, I made a little list. It's in no way exhaustive, right? It's just a little smattering. But I'm going to read to you a list of people who have gone before you, most of whom's blood was spilled. So here it goes. Stephen, the first martyr.
• 11:00
  A.D. 34. James, brother to Jesus, first apostle to be martyred, executed by Herod Agrippa. A.D. 62. Philip, the apostle, crucified or stoned to death. A.D. 80. Matthew, the apostle, beheaded. A.D. 66. Jude, apostle, beaten to death. A.D. 68. Simon, the zealot, tortured and crucified. A.D. 68. Peter and Paul, apostles.
• 11:30
  One beheaded, one crucified upside down during the reign of Nero. Let's get a little closer to our time. John Wycliffe arrested and tried for preaching and writing that all believers should have access to scripture. He began translating the Bible in English. He died before he finished of natural causes. But 43 years later, they dug up his buried bones and they burned them.
• 12:02
  for his supposed heresy. They let him be buried. They put him aside because he was so popular and they were afraid of the controversy. And then 43 years later, they were still so bitter and Satan was using it and they dug his bones up and burned them. One of my favorites. John Huss. If you're interested in hearing more about him, Sam Porges preached in the Reformation series about him.
• 12:29
  I was teaching kids, so I didn't get to hear it, but I got to listen to it. He's one of my favorites. John Huss, he was called the goose. We get the saying, the goose is cooked from him. John Huss, whose writings inspired Martin Luther, refused to recant that Jesus was the head of the church, was burned at the stake in 1415. Martin Luther, Protestant reformer, persecuted for his 95 thesis and his faith alone message, was tried for heresy in 1521. And we sing his hymn tonight.
• 12:58
  A mighty fortress is our God. William Tyndale burned at the stake for translating the Bible in Belgium, 1536. John Bradford spent years in prison in England, unwilling to deny his beliefs, preached to the prisoners and congregants that would come in prison, was burned at the stake, along with a teenager, John Leif, in 1555. He's famous for saying, England, repent, and then for forgiving his persecutors as he died.
• 13:26
  I have one I want to read from here, also from 1555. Thomas Hawker, England, 1555. Thomas, his friend lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the guard. I have to ask you this favor. I need to know if what the others say about the grace of God is true. Tomorrow, when they burn you at the stake, if the pain is tolerable and your mind is still at peace, lift your hands above your head. Do it right before you die, Thomas. I have to know.
• 13:59
  Thomas Hawker whispered to his friend, I will. The next morning, Hawker was found to the stake and the fire was lit. The fire burned a long time, but Hawker remained motionless. His skin was burnt to a crisp and his fingers were gone. Everyone watching supposed he was dead. Suddenly, miraculously, Hawker lifted his hands, still on fire, over his head. He reached them up to the living God and then, with great rejoicing, clapped them together three times. The people there broke into shouts of praise and applause.
• 14:30
  Hawker's friend had his answer. As I started looking at more modern-day martyrs and those who have been persecuted, one report said that 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016. Stories of pastors and missionaries and believers tortured and killed for their faith in the Middle East and in Africa were appalling. You remember last year, 49 churchgoers in Egypt were killed on Palm Sunday?
• 15:00
  Countries like North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan are ranked highest in their persecution and hostility toward believers. This book, Jesus Freaks, is much like the book Fox's Book of Martyrs. It was written in 1999, and I'm going to read just two from there. Philip, Sudan, 1996. 1996. The guards picked up a burning log from the fire.
• 15:42
  Renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, they commanded. We will burn you and cut you until you become a Muslim. Philip had been taken to a military barracks along with 35 other Christians. Islamic officials began to beat them and curse them. For 11 days, Philip and several of his friends were bound, beaten, and burned as government soldiers tried to convert them to the Islamic faith. None of the 12 women survived the torture. Philip still bears the scars on his chest left by the burning log used to torture him.
• 16:09
  He later told reporters, My faith was very strong when they burned me. I prayed, God, I will never forget you. I refused to be a Muslim because I knew God was with me. Mira Jarali. I'm sure I'm not saying it right, but you'll understand. Bangladesh, 1997. The 30 Christian families stood in front of the mosque, surrounded by 500 Muslims. You'd better leave Christianity and become Muslim again, the crowd yelled. If you do, we will help you. If not, we will beat you.
• 16:39
  Mira Jarali and his family stood with the others. We were all new converts from Islam, which makes them really angry, he said. Second generation Christians do not upset them as much. On that morning, every believer, including women and children, had to stand before the Muslim leaders for four hours while each family was questioned. When Mira's turn came to stand before the court, he said, in your religion there is no salvation, no hope for going to heaven. I have Jesus and now I am whole. Now Jesus has forgiven my sins and I have hope for heaven.
• 17:08
  Following the hearing, all of the Christian families were forbidden to get water from the village well. From that day on, they have had to walk and carry their water more than a mile every day. Then the villagers accused Mira and several others of stealing the water. The police beat me, kicked me, and put me in prison for 30 days. I was tied to the back of another Christian man. We were beaten for four days, then locked in a cell with 60 Muslim prisoners. The Muslim prisoners were sympathetic.
• 17:35
  It is better that you are Christians, they told Mira. It is a good life. Muslims are not at peace. They are always fighting each other. Mira's land was taken away by the village's Muslim leader, even though Mira's wife was expecting a baby. Members of his family have been beaten several times. When they walk through the village, people throw mud at them. The Christians have also been attacked in their little house church. Even though they are all new believers, they are not shaken by this harsh treatment.
• 18:04
  We give thanks to God that these things cannot destroy our spirit, Mira said. Jesus told us that we are only here for a few days. So whenever I read books like this, I kind of skip around. I don't go from the beginning to the end. And as I was reading, I thought, you know what, I should read the first one. Because that's probably the most powerful one. And if those didn't get close enough to home, this one will. She was 17 years old. He stood glaring at her, his weapon before her face. Do you believe in God?
• 18:37
  She paused. It was a life or death question. Yes, I believe in God. Why? asked her executioner, but he never gave her the chance to respond. The teenage girl lay dead at his feet. This scene could have happened in the Roman Coliseum, could have happened in the Middle Ages, and it could have happened in any number of countries around the world today. People are being imprisoned, tortured, and killed every day because they refuse to deny the name of Jesus. This particular story, though, did not happen in ancient times.
• 19:06
  Nor in Vietnam, Pakistan, or Romania. It happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20th, 1999. Don't forget whose shoulders we stand on. And let us not forget who might need to stand on our shoulders. Right? Don't forget this sea of blood. Okay, let's go back to verse 12. And I have to turn there now. I got away from it. That was just my introduction. Verse 12. Beloved.
• 19:49
  Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. Are you living a surprising life? Are you surprised with the trials you face? Let's first establish a different understanding of the types of suffering and trials. All of us, all believers, will face trials in this fallen world. We were born into sin, so death...
• 20:19
  disease, broken relationships, the hard things that we all face are universal, right? Because of sin. If you are a believer, you are going to face these trials of many kinds because we live in a fallen world, not the way God intended. And there is also a suffering that is as a result of our own bad choices, right? I'm going to call it consequential suffering. And if you will, let me teach the verses out of turn. Go down to verse 15.
• 20:49
  But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. This is the kind of suffering that they're talking about, that Peter is talking about here, I would call consequential suffering, right? It's your own fault, suffering. And we have no right, people have no right to claim suffering or say, oh, I'm in a great trial when they have committed a crime or are dealing with consequences of their own sin.
• 21:19
  Right? You understand that? So those are two different types of sin. I mean suffering. And let me just hit on that word meddler there for a minute. It can be translated troublesome meddler. And it is used only here in the New Testament. And it may seem minor compared to murderer or thief that it is in verse 15. But it demonstrates for all of us that sin forfeits the Holy Spirit's comfort and rest.
• 21:48
  We can't claim that a trial that we brought on ourselves, we can't claim that that's a trial. And if you want to write these verses down to look up in direct opposition to that troublesome meddler, would be 1 Thessalonians 4.11 and 2 Thessalonians 3.11 and 12. Just for sake of time, I'm not going to read them.
• 22:16
  I wanted you to know, though, on this little rabbit trail, that that meddler actually refers to political things in this verse. Being a meddler could apply to every area of our life, but specifically here, Peter is talking about political activism, being disruptive, or participating in illegal activity all in the name of politics.
• 22:45
  Illegal activity in the name of politics. And he's saying because you get in trouble for meddling and disobeying the law for anything besides Jesus, it's not a trial. And I just thought that was relevant to today. Okay. The kind of suffering, though, that we're dealing with in these verses is persecution, obviously. That's what I've read. All those people face persecution. And we're talking about suffering for righteousness' sake, right?
• 23:16
  Not about the other two kinds of suffering that I just talked about. Look at verse 12 again. We cannot be surprised, ladies, when we face trials because of the name of Jesus. In fact, I would say you should be surprised if you're not. Right? That's the surprising life. If you're living a life where no one is looking at you and saying why or what or being mean to you, that is the surprising life. It's not the life.
• 23:46
  That God intended. I coached softball for a while. Not when I was in high school. I taught high school softball. Coached high school softball. And my coach one time, we were just driving to a game. And he said, you know Hallie, if everybody likes you, there's a problem. And I thought, oh that's probably good to know. That's good. That's what I think this verse is about.
• 24:15
  If you're not causing any ripples in your life, then you're probably not living the life that could cause some surprise, right? Look at John chapter 15. If you want, I'll just read it to you if you don't want to. John chapter 15, verse 18. If the world hates you, this is Jesus, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
• 24:44
  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. Does the world love you? But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Do you remember when we first started talking about 1 Peter? And we talked about the backdrop.
• 25:17
  in which 1 Peter was set, the time of Nero. I want to read my favorite, it's not great, but the best, let's say it that way, the best description of that. And I printed it for you on the back of your notes, so if you want to flip over, if you learn better by just listening, that's fine, if you want to read along. This is what was going on as Peter wrote these words, okay? The first part I just like because I like history.
• 25:47
  Nero was the first of ten persecuting Caesars. The final and worst persecution took place under Diocletian. Then Constantine came to the throne of the Caesars and persecution was replaced by patronage, which proved to be the ruin of the church. For its first 300 years, the church was in the world. It was a despised and hated entity, locked in a life and death struggle with a pagan society. That's where Peter is right now as he's writing to us.
• 26:14
  But after Constantine, however, the world was in the church. And in time, the church itself became the persecutor of those who resisted its carnality, creeds, and commands. And that was the church that most of those men in that middle section that I read earlier were facing. That's where they were living. Here's a description of the fiery trial. This was the first legal persecution of the Christians. And in some of its features, it stands alone.
• 26:44
  In the annals of human barbarity, inventive cruelty fought out new ways of torture to satiate the bloodthirsty Nero, the most cruel emperor that ever reigned. The gentle, peaceful, unoffending followers of the Lord Jesus were sewn in the skins of wild beasts, torn by dogs. Others were wrapped in a kind of dress smeared with wax, with pitch and other combustible matter, with a stake under the chin to keep them upright and set on fire when the day closed.
• 27:11
  that they might serve as lights in the public gardens of popular amusements. Nero lent his own gardens for these exhibitions and gave entertainment for the people. He took an active part in the games himself, sometimes mingling with a crowd on foot, sometimes viewing the awful spectacle from his chariot, but accustomed, as these people were, to public executions and gladiatorial shows, they were moved to pity by the unexampled cruelties inflicted on the Christians. They began to see that they suffered, not for the public good,
• 27:39
  but to gratify the cruelty of one man. But fearful as their death was, it was soon over, and to them, no doubt, the happiest moment of their existence. Long, long before the lights were quenched in Nero's garden, the martyrs had found their home and rest above in the blooming garden of God's eternal delight. Although historians are not agreed, either as to the extent or the duration of this terrible persecution, there is too good reason to believe that it spread throughout the empire and lasted until the end of the tyrant's life. He died by his own hand.
• 28:07
  and uttered wretchedness and despair in AD 68, about four years after the burning of Rome and one year after the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. Towards the end of his reign, the Christians were required, under the heaviest penalties, even that of death, to offer sacrifices to the emperor and to the heathen gods. While such edicts were enforced, the persecution must have continued. There were ten Caesars, I think. Did that say that up there? Ten in total.
• 28:35
  They had a little break of persecution and then it started again, ending with diocletian. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial. Number one is don't be surprised. Number two is share with Christ. I'm going to go back to 1 Peter and I'm going to read verses 13 through 14 and 16. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.
• 29:11
  because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. I'm going to skip 15 because we already did that one. Go to 16. Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. It's interesting, right? Last week we talked about being a steward of suffering, that God has entrusted not only your suffering to you, but his suffering on the cross. And we talked about how you can be a steward of that, how you can show other people that.
• 29:41
  how you can use it wisely. I'm going to do something a little different here. As I was trying to find the perfect picture of what that looks like, right, that we can have joy amidst our suffering, I came across an excerpt from the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. And I think most of you, I know most of you are familiar with that. And it's interesting, one of the...
• 30:15
  One of the commentators used this excerpt. And I went back and forth. It wasn't until last night that I typed it all out. I tried to find it online so I didn't have to type it. But I'm a pretty fast typer. So I typed it out because I felt like it was so powerful. And I hope that you will see it that way too. I'm just going to start throwing this stuff down because I don't want to get confused where I'm at. Okay, so we're going to read this little excerpt. But let me just say first, I'm an English major, so I know.
• 30:45
  This maybe isn't exciting for all of you, but it's pretty fun for me, so sorry. This book, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was pretty important. Stowe would say the most important piece of fiction literature ever to be written, right? I did a little bit of study about it, some background. Harriet Beecher Stowe got to meet Abraham Lincoln. She wrote the book, and when she met Abraham Lincoln,
• 31:15
  He said to her, let me find it so I can say it exactly right. Harriet Beecher Stone met Abraham Lincoln. She called him the brightest star in her constellation of American heroes. And President Lincoln reportedly said, is this the little woman who made this great war? Now, she didn't cause the war, but her book was a big deal. And it did things that helped push the North over into deciding it was now.
• 31:47
  going to call for the end of slavery. So, I know we don't usually read things like this in church, but we're going to. We're pioneers, as it were, okay? And I've printed it for you, but I am going to, and I'm going to read it, but if I don't read it exactly as it's printed, and if my quotations, Janet, are not exactly right, it's a very old story, so I just did it straight from how it was written, okay? So, if I don't say it exactly like they would have, okay?
• 32:17
  There's one thing. I do want to say this. I don't know how many of you have heard a derogatory term of people calling other people Uncle Tom. It's interesting. She wrote the book, and Uncle Tom is a martyr. Christian, it's amazing. When they went to make the movie of it, years and years later, it wasn't PC enough. So it has now become kind of a derogatory term. When I told Danny I was going to...
• 32:47
  share part of this. He was like, well, isn't Uncle Tom the bad guy? I thought that's interesting, right? Because something that was written to be a Christian martyr got turned throughout the years, through the movies and whatnot, into being a character that was not as vital and important as she meant him to be. So, for what it's worth, remember, the reason we're reading this excerpt, I'm just going to remind you, is because of those verses.
• 33:14
  Right? 13, 14, and 16. Because, you guys, we know that God calls us to have joy amidst our trials. That there are people, you heard me read, so many of them were persecuted and God used them and they had joy despite them. And I know, I know that you guys have felt that too. There is a supernatural, right? I believe in Jesus. My life is his. This is my stewardship of my suffering and his that takes us past the suffering, right?
• 33:43
  Michael the One said, because we're only here for a minute. Okay, here we go. That's why I'm reading it, just in case you were wondering. Here we go. To be sure. So what's your name? You belong to a church, eh? Yes, Master, said Tom firmly. Well, I'll soon have that out of you. I have none of your bawling, praying, singing hypocrites on my place. So remember. Now mind yourself, he said with a stamp and a fierce glance of his gray eye directed at Tom. I'm your church now. You understand? You've got to be as I say.
• 34:13
  Legree, his name is Simon Legree, soon assessed Tom as a valuable slave, even though he felt a secret dislike of him. He had purchased Tom to be an overseer, but Tom was not hard enough. Well, Simon Legree would harden him. Out in the cotton field one day, Tom helped a slave by the name of Lucy. Legree heard about it and decided the time had come to harden Tom up by making him flog the poor woman. Tom's basket was weighed and approved, and he looked with an anxious glance for the success of the woman he had befriended.
• 34:40
  Tottering with weakness, she came forward and delivered her basket. It was of full weight, as Legree well perceived. But, affecting anger, he said, What? You lazy beast! Short again! Stand aside! You'll catch it pretty soon. The woman gave a groan of utter despair and sat down on a board. And now, said Legree, come here, you tom. You see, I told you. I didn't buy you just for the common work. I mean to promote you and make a driver of you. And tonight you may just as well begin to get your hand in.
• 35:09
  Now you just take this here gal and flog her. You've seen enough on it to know how. I begged master's pardon, said Tom. Hope's master won't set at that. It's what I ain't used to never did and can't do, no way possible. You'll learn a pretty smart chance of things you never did know before I'm done with you, said Lucree. Taking up a cowhide and striking Tom a heavy blow across the cheek and following up the infliction by a shower of blows. There, he said as he stopped to rest. Now will you tell me?
• 35:38
  Tell me you can't do it. Yes, master, said Tom, putting up his hand to wipe the blood that trickled down his face. I'm willing to work night and day and work while there's life and breath in me, but that your thing I can't fall right to do. And master, I never shall do it. Never. Simon Legree shook with anger. He was now more determined than ever to break Tom's will. Well, here's a pious dog at last. Let down among us sinners, a saint, a gentleman, and no less to talk to us sinners about our sins. Powerful, holy critter he must be.
• 36:06
  Here, you rascal, you make believe to be so pious. Didn't you never hear out of your Bible servants, obey your masters? Ain't I your master? Didn't I pay down $1,200 cash for all there is inside your old cussed black shell? Ain't you mine, now body and soul? He said, giving Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot. Tell me. In the very depth of physical suffering, bowed by brutal oppression, this question shot a gleam of joy and triumph through Tom's soul. Here's our verses.
• 36:35
  He suddenly stretched himself up, and looking earnestly to heaven, while the tears and blood that flowed down his face mingled, he exclaimed, No, no, no. My soul ain't yours, master. You haven't bought it. You can't buy it. It's been bought and paid for by one that is able to keep it. No matter, no matter, you can't harm me. I can't, said Legree with a sneer. We'll see. We'll see. Here's Sambo, Quimbo. Give this dog such a breakin' in as he won't get over this month. I'm going to pause for a minute.
• 37:05
  because it's too many pages for you to read right now, so I'm giving you a little interjection. So they do. They beat him, and it begins this reign of terror. Legree overhears Tom singing hymns several times in this portion of the book, and it only enrages him more. And yet, Tom overflowed with compassion and sympathy for his fellow slaves. Okay, back to your paper. It is true, opportunities were scanty.
• 37:32
  But on the way to the fields and back again and during the course of labor, chances fell his way of extending a helping hand to the weary, the disheartened and discouraged, the poor, worn down, brutalized creatures at first could scarce comprehend this. But when it continued week after week and month after month, it began to awaken long, silent chords in their benumbed hearts. Gradually and imperceptibly, the strange, silent, patient man who was ready to bear everyone's burden and sought help from none, who stood aside for all and came last and took least.
• 38:01
  yet was foremost to share his little all with any who needed. The man who in cold nights would give up his tattered blanket to add to the comfort of some woman who shivered with sickness and who filled the baskets of the weaker ones in the field at the terrible risk of coming short in his own measure, and who though pursued with unrelenting cruelty by their common tyrant, never joined in uttering a word of reviling or cursing. This man, at last, began to have a strange power over them.
• 38:30
  And when the more pressing season was past and they were allowed again their Sundays for their own use, many would gather together to hear from him of Jesus. I'm going to pause one more time. At this point in the book, two of Simon Legree's slaves, two women slaves, run away and escape. And Simon Legree decides to take his rage out on Uncle Tom. And Simon Legree says, guess what? I've decided I'm going to kill you. To which Tom says,
• 39:00
  And it's on your paper. Master, if you were sick or in trouble or dying and I could save you, I'd give you my heart's blood. And if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body would save your precious soul, I'd give them freely. As the Lord gave his for me. Oh, Master, don't bring this great sin on your soul. It will hurt you more than it will me. Do the worst you can. Troubles will be over soon. If you don't repent, yours will never end. So, Simon Legree decides.
• 39:34
  to have Sambo and Quimbo come in and they beat him all night, mostly with Simon Legris watching while they do it. And as you read the book, you can tell that Sambo and Quimbo start to feel guilty, start to feel sad. They start to feel like they want to stop, but Legris won't let them. Finally, he leaves, Simon Legris leaves, and Sambo and Quimbo take him down off of the contraption they had been beating him on.
• 40:06
  they start to try to bring him back to life. And they can't. He's already dying. But not before he leads them both to the Lord that night. And it's powerful. It's a powerful story. It's not a real story. It's a powerful story. And it's such a picture to me of those verses. Rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
• 40:36
  Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. I hope that that was a picture for you. Uncle Tom, that poor black slave, exemplified the words of Peter. And somebody wrote that if Harriet Beecher Stowe didn't write this story based on 1 Peter chapter 4, that it was probably her verses anyway. That they were her life verses, you know. I thought that was a great picture of that.
• 41:05
  Share with Christ. That's your second point. Number three, entrust your life. We're going to read the last verses, and it's the perfect way to close because God's good like that. Verses 17 through 19. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
• 41:40
  Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Do you know who the household of God is here? Who's he referring to? The church. He's talking about the church. There's this crazy byproduct to persecution, right? When a people is persecuted, just like...
• 42:04
  A fire, which is why they use fiery trial. And if you want to know more about the fiery trial and what they assume, Peter is reflecting to the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, talks about a fiery trial. We know when gems, stones are put in fire, what happens? You can talk. What happens to them? They come out beautiful. They're better, right? A lot of times we use fire to refine those.
• 42:34
  Thank you. Those stones and jewels, right? And that's what the fiery trial is like for the church. Because, like I said, there's this byproduct to persecution. That's what fire does to precious metals, and that's what fire does to the church. I think that persecution being on the horizon is scary. I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like thinking about it for myself. And honestly, you guys, as I was studying this, I told some of the ladies earlier,
• 43:07
  really was praying like I felt like the Lord said how can you really say these words out loud do you want to say those words out loud I don't know I already did so it's too late but it's coming it's on the horizon and it frightens me it um what word did I use for my children and for my grandchildren it paralyzes me um but the privilege and honor of suffering for the name of Christ might be exactly what the American church needs
• 43:36
  Because it will mean, like we said last week, to live is Christ and to die is gain. It separates. You know, it says you either believe this or you don't. Verse 17, if the church needs that kind of cleansing, it says, for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, how bad is it? Look at the rest of it. For those who do not obey the gospel, if we need purification, if we have to go through the fire, how much worse is it for the people who don't know him?
• 44:07
  which should propel us, right, to share our faith. I'm going to throw all my papers down, so I don't know if I can go back. Yeah, look at 2 Timothy 3.12 for just one second. 2 Timothy 3.12. If you want to, 2 Timothy 3.12. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It's pretty simple. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
• 44:44
  Verse 19 sums up our night perfectly. If you are called to suffer for God's will, can you entrust your soul? Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. This is the only time that God is called a creator in the New Testament. The only time. Can you trust your creator? I think so. And can you see how that works together? That if you're called to walk through the fire,
• 45:16
  That he would say, you can trust your creator. You can trust your soul and your life. He knows. He sees. He wins, like Janice said. We can trust him through every trial and tribulation because he always prevails. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. I always think when there are messages like this, and I've been thinking this for the last month, I've been burdened. Burdened.
• 45:50
  And I've prayed, in a way, for the persecuted church that I haven't prayed for in years. And it's because I was reading about it. Because I was being informed, like I said before. And I always feel like when you hear messages like this, sometimes you can walk away and go, Okay, but what do I do? What do I do? How do I practically do something about that? It a little bit makes you want to rise up. And I think...
• 46:18
  That the way you do that, and we talked about it last week, and it's so evident in 1 Peter, what God is calling you to do is pray. He's calling you to pray. Have you ever spent time praying for your fellow believers across the world who are suffering? You should. And if you feel like you don't know enough, you have lots of resources to find out about them. Right? And however God uses our prayers,
• 46:48
  Like that verse in James, however he uses it, however he does that, he's calling us to do that and that it can intercede on the behalf of those people. So I would say if you're feeling burdened by all that, to pray and to look into some organizations. There's a lot of really good ones. It doesn't mean you have to sign your life over, but could you give your time or your prayers or your thoughts to some of them? I think being informed, reading is probably important.
• 47:18
  important not to walk around like this kind of Christian, you know, to be informed, to think bigger than our little world right here. And I would say, and I'm not going to put anything on you. I don't have any flashy thing. But maybe you should, if you're feeling the pull of the Holy Spirit, to pray and ask God what he would have you do. I did ask Connie to bring some of her Voice of the Martyrs.
• 47:44
  stuff that's in the back. She has some books that she's willing to lend if you want to read something about it. If you just want to see if God can use it to spark your heart to pray for other people outside of our own world. She also types up a whole list of just the verses from 1 Peter that are about persecution. And maybe this is what I do. I'm just going to tell you because I'm lame. I usually break down my week because I like to be organized like that. I have one day a week.
• 48:14
  Then I pray for the persecuted church. I'm sure somebody told me along the way somewhere to do that. You know, I pray for certain people on one day and some people every day. But I pick one day for some of those things. And that's not much of my time. But it helps me to stay focused. And it helps me to be held accountable to myself, I guess, to do that. I hope that's challenging. I hope you see why we need to.
• 48:42
  And I thought instead of discussing around our tables that it would be a good idea to put into practice to pray. So maybe just for a couple of minutes by yourself, spend a couple of minutes praying for, maybe you know, somebody who's suffering for the sake of Jesus or a church or a congregation or a country or a people. Spend a couple of minutes praying and then I'll close.