1 Peter 4 v 12 - 5 v 5a (16th July 2010)

[You can read the passage here]

Christians should not be taken by surprised when they have to suffer for the sake of their faith (v 12). Instead they can look at the benefits they can obtain.

Verse 13 tells us that we should rejoice when faced with suffering as it is in fact an opportunity privilege to be able to 'participate in the sufferings of Christ'. This was something that Peter himself went thru (see Acts 5 v 40 -41) - the disciples counted it their privilege to be considered worthy to go thru wat their Lord went thru!

Do we just bear and grin with it - or do we also rejoice?

Peter also reminded us that the suffering is only temporal. In the same verse he points us to the fact that Jesus will return and reveal his glory - we will then be with him forever!

So what shud be our attitude and response when we encounter suffering? Verse 19 reminds us to commit our situation to our faithful Creator and to continue to do good.

When we commit our situation to our Lord, we are basically trusting in him, knowing that he is in control no matter what happens. He is the "faithful Creator" and therefore we can count on him to take care of us and work only for our good (Rom 8 v 28, Jere 29 v 11).

At the same time, we should not use our sufferings as an excuse to no do anything. We are after all created to do good works (Eph 2 v 10).

So in times of suffering, let us rejoice and look towards the day when Christ will return, let us continue to trust in him and persevere in doing good.

I shared the example of a missionary family, when they were in Africa, the daughter drowned. But they committed themselves to the Lord, trusting in him and continue to do good. Today, they are still serving God faithfully.

We then moved on to chapter 5v 1 - 4. Altho this portion is addressed to the 'elders' among them, the verses are just as relevant to all of us today - we are after all, leaders in some way, to some Christians and/or to our younger frens and family members.

Peter reminded us that leaders are not to have the wrong motives - to be leaders for personal gain or to be leaders reluctantly (v2). Instead, we are to lead by example (v3).

Finally, we turned the tables around and considered how we are to relate to our leaders - verse 5a. The Bible is clear - we are to submit to our leaders. After all, God placed them as our leaders. They have experienced more than we have. We should therefore listen to them and not be disunited. If we are of the view that the elders should be doing something, we should then pray to God that the Holy Spirit will indeed lead them to do it if it is in God's will.