20061105 God Speaks Thru Circumstances

God Speaks Through Circumstances

by Manuel Mariano, for 20061105, PBC

Focus

Today my topic is "God speaks through circumstances". This continues the thread of preaching here at

Punchbowl on "Experiencing God" based on the book by Henry Blackaby.



I will be focusing today specifically on answering the question: what does God say in our circumstances?

Not New

Today what I will share will probably not be new to you. But I hope that it will bless you as it has blessed me.

I have drawn part of this message from the writings of John Piper and J.I. Packer and I am thankful to God

that He has led me there.

Passage 1 Peter 1:1-9 (ESV)

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of

the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

      Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth

into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be

revealed in the last time.

6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by

fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in

him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Opening Prayer

Focus here on seeking God's blessing through the talk.

Exegesis

The first letter of Peter is written around 62-64AD to the churches in Asia Minor, the areas within and around modern

day Turkey.



It is now around 30 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus. Peter is writing to the Jewish Christians who are

there, scattered because of persecution not just by the Roman authorities but by other Jews who believed the

Jewish Christians were a threat to their way of life.


Peter is writing to encourage these Jewish Christians in their suffering - and by this stage he is no stranger to
suffering himself. He is believed to be in Rome where he has been beaten and jailed as Rome started to purge the
empire of those of who would not bow to Caesar. Peter will die there. Peter is encouraging the Jewish Christians to
live joyfully despite their circumstances, and to remember the power, mercy and grace of God in the midst of these
circumstances.

This letter is also intended for us today because we believe in the same Jesus who said:



"All men will hate you because of me..." (Matthew 10:22) and again

" "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble." (John 16:33)

A life of Abiding Joy

Living a life for Jesus Christ is characterized by tremendous, ever-present joy.



Peter says in verses 8-9: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.



When you become a Christian - when we love and believe in Jesus, when we throw our lot with him and obey his
commandments even though you have not seen him - we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Why?
Because we are receiving the goal, the prize of our faith. What is that goal of our faith? By God's grace!
it is the salvation of our souls.



Can you see the quality of this joy? Peter says that this joy is inexpressible and glorious. The joy itself is beyond

our capacity to explain or describe to ourselves and others. It just is. It is self-evident. It is glorious, magnificent

and those who see it in us want it for themselves.



And what's more, this joy is present in our lives NOW. Peter says we "are filled", rather than "will be filled" with

joy. It is indeed an abiding joy because it is ever-present, and is here now.

"...receiving the goal of your faith..."

An important point in v8-9 is that Peter says it is our faith that God uses to lead us to the salvation of

our souls.



So the quality of our faith is of paramount importance. The quality of our faith matters greatly.

Swimming

But we know for a fact that our daily experiences are smattered with not so happy times, right? Times when

we even experience walking in the valley of the shadow of death. And it is hard in those times to see the

thread of joy that is supposed to be abiding in our lives then.



When I was about 15, I almost drowned. And it was because I grew over-confident about swimming.



You see when I was small, I loved swimming. I spent many hours in the beach, in calm, chest high waters

swimming, floating and diving. I started to believe this meant that I could now swim regardless of depth

or condition.



Then one day my uncle Dan and his snorkelling buddy took me along in a canoe about a kilometer or so

from the beach.



When they went diving, I stayed on the boat - for about 5 minutes. I decided that since I was such a capable

swimmer, that I should at least be able to swim around the canoe to explore. And I was going to do it in such

a way that the safety of the canoe was no more than 2 or 3 strokes away.



The next thing I knew, the current had taken me 20 or so meters away - and if my Uncle had not seen my distress

and came to my rescue, at great personal risk himself - I would certainly not be here to you today.

Mirroring my Christian walk

My early Christian life is like that early passion for swimming.



In the same way that I was always attracted to the fun of it, so I was also attracted to the promise of joy

in the Christian life.



And when I became a Christian in 1994 the early days were indeed immersed in joyful moments. Times when

my quiet times were constant and craved for; when going to church was never burdensome; and it seemed

even those who did not believe in Jesus at least listened with interest when I shared Him to them.



It was like swimming in the relative safety of calm, shallow waters. Every stroke you make in the water gets you

somewhere. You hold your breath and swim underwater and you find yourself emerging at exactly the point you

planned to swim to.



And then as the months passed the initial euphoria was replaced with the hard slog that is the

Christian life. The immersion in deep waters. The reality is that the Christian life was always going to be

include what J.I. Packer calls "the daily chastening; the endless war with sin and Satan, and the periodic

walk in the darkness."

Not Exempted from Sorrow

It is clear, isn't it, that though it is joy that characterizes the Christian life, it no way exempts that life from

sorrow.



And we know that this is not merely a result of our times, because even Paul in his letter to the Corinthian

church in 2 Corinthians 6:10 says that he also lives "sorrowful, but rejoicing". The context in that passage

is that Paul describes how he values God's grace in his ministry no matter the circumstances he is in.



So how does this work? How does a life with sorrow still be a life of joy? God says in the bible that His plans

for those who believe in Him are plans for prosper them, and not to harm them, plans to give them a hope

and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).



In what way is the sorrow in our lives part of God's plan to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future?

In short, how are our sorrows meant to lead us to the tremendous joy?



In the passage we read today, Peter gives us two reasons why this life can be a life of Joy:



First - Despite the circumstance God has a great and fail-safe in the future for us to look forward to.

that can be found in v3-5.



Second - through the circumstance God has a design to increase our joy in that future by means of our distresses.

This can be found in v6-7, our main verses this morning.

First Reason for Joy: The promise of Prosperity, Hope and Future despite the circumstance

In the interest of time I won't be expanding this first reason too much today, but basically Peter affirms Jeremiah 29:11:



We have a future, because we are assured of life with Christ instead of eternal death in our sins, verse 3.

We have prosperity, because God is setting aside an imperishable, unspoilt and unfading inheritance in heaven, v4.

We have hope, because God is shielding us to guarantee that we will inherit that inheritance, verse 5.

Second Reason for Joy: a Design in our Distresses through the circumstance

The first reason given by Peter is enough, in fact more than enough to give us joy despite the circumstances.



But there is more! There is a reason for joy within the circumstance.



Peter gives us the second reason for joy: there is a design in our distresses.


The design is implied by Peter in the use of the phrase "so that" in verse 7.



The design is also implied even more in the literal translations of the bible such as the KJV and NASB by the inclusion of the

phrase "if need be" or "if necessary", respectively.

Missing in NIV ",if necessary,..."

in Greek/English Interlinear Bible (source: http://www.olivetree.com/cgi-bin/EnglishBible.htm), verse 6 reads:



"Wherein you exult, (though) you for a little while at present, if necessary, have been put to grief in various trials,..."



There is a design in our distresses.

God decrees our distresses

Who is making these distresses necessary? Who owns the design behind the distresses?



Not Satan, because Satan has no interest in refining, proving and building up our faith!



No - the ultimate design in our distresses is by God. Listen to these verses in 1 Peter:



3:17 - "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

4:19 - "So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator

and continue to do good."



Or this from Lamentations 3:37-38:

 37 Who can speak and have it happen

       if the Lord has not decreed it?

 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

       that both calamities and good things come?

So when Peter says "...if necessary...", he means "If God deems it necessary."



There are many more verses in the bible that confirms the universality of God's will in all events, such as Romans 8:28,

Isaiah 45:7; Daniel 4:34-35, Amos 3:6, Job 1:21; Jeremiah 15:2



God decrees our circumstances. He commands them to be so with the same authority by which He commanded

"let there be light, and there was light". God's word is effectual in that it will happen in the manner and

in the time he desires and wills.

A difficult implication

Now I know how this sounds - and I know these are difficult questions to answer.

Is it God's will that your family relationships are breaking apart?

Is it God's will that people ridicule you for your belief?

Is it God's will that you are suffering from illness?

Is it God's will that you be alone?

Is it God's will that your job is threatened?

Is it God's will that there are people dying through various wars and injustices throughout the world?



The answer, based on the such verses as 1 Peter 3:17 and 4:19, and Lamentations 3:37-38, is No, God does not will it, and Yes,

He does.



John Piper says: "No in the sense that he does not delight in pain for its own sake; he does not command sin or approve of

sinning. But Yes, he does will that these things be, in the sense that he could easily prevent any of those things but sometimes

does not, but rather guides them, because of higher designs than the destructiveness of sin or the deceitfullness of Satan or

the painfulness of suffering."



You see suffering happens when there is sin. Is this not true? When Christians suffer, is there not sin being committed? And

yet above the destructiveness of sin, the deceit of Satan, exists God's design, governed by God's sovereign will.



When Christ was murdered on the cross, it was sin, but God willed that it happen: "It was the will of the Lord to bruise him"

(Isaiah 53:10). And by that same will that decreed Jesus death, we are saved.

What is the design?

So what is saying in the design of our distresses? We draw out five elements in the passage from Peter:



1. In God's design our distresses are made up of various trials



Verse 6b "...suffer grief in all kinds of trials". The point is that Christians will suffer in many different ways. So in

God's design it is "necessary", he says, to use a wide range of trials. There is not just one kind of trial in scope

here. Piper says "God paints with many colors", many dark and many bright. And in the end the painting that is your life

will be glorious and pleasing to God.



2. In God's design our distresses are brief



Verse 6a "...though now for a little while you may have had to suffer..." Now let's understand here that the phrase "a little

while" is in God's perspective. We may indeed suffer from the day we are born to the day we die, but that is brief

compared to the eternity awaiting us, compared to the enjoyment of the imperishable inheritance that God is keeping

for us in heaven and for which He is keeping us.



3. In God's design our distresses are grievous



Verse 6 says "...suffer grief..." God has so designed our distresses so that there is very real, authentic grieving in our

distress. But there is a difference. Peter says in verse 6 that we rejoice, despite the distresses.



Because our view of our distresses are fundamentally altered because we see a design in our grief. God's design is like

a strong and sure current that carries us along. Though we may be in deep waters and have nothing under our feet

to hold us up; though our limbs are too tired or incapable to take us anywhere - we are rejoicing and full of hope because

we are being directed to shore by God's sovereign grace.



4. In God's design, our distresses are like the fire that refines gold from its impurities



Verse 7: "These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—

may be proved genuine..."



When gold is melted in the fire the impurities rise to the top and can be skimmed off. It is God's design that in our

distresses all the imperfections in our trusting Him can be skimmed off.


Remember that we said earlier

that the quality of our faith matters? It is in our distresses that God refines the quality of our faith.


We believe in God, but sometimes this is mingled with faith in our abilities; our money; our friends; our health. These impurities

hinder our fullest experience of the goodness and the greatness of God. God's design is to remove all these props so that the

faith that results is of the greatest quality.



And God does this not because he doesn't love us: far from it. God loves us so much that he sees our faith as worthy

of refining.



5. Finally, in God's design, the result of this refining is that our faith will receive praise and honor and glory



Verse 7: "... may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."



When Jesus Christ comes again, his majesty and glory will be reflected in the refined quality of our faith. Jesus

will be exalted in the way his believers have fully trusted Him and His promises.



He will come no longer as that helpless baby in Bethlehem, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; people

from all nations will bow down and worship before Him.



And on that glorious day when we see Him, when we have already been overflowingly rewarded with a new life;

when our tears are already wiped away and all the old order of things including our pain and suffering are no more -

the King of Heaven Himself will add to our realized hope, prosperity and future, a crown of glory that will never

fade away (Peter 5:4).



And we will see finally that the design of God in our distresses has been the extraordinary joy of sharing

in the very glory and praise and honor of God himself.

Application

Today we may have come through those doors with burdens on our shoulder that we have been struggling with
all week, or even longer. And we see no reason, nor justification for it in our lives, and though we have prayed
at the very start that God take it away - yet it remains.

I encourage you today to not despair, remember that God is always in control even when your life seems out of
control. He holds us in the palm of His hand - and nothing, and no one can take us away from there.

I encourage you to remember that God loves you, and yet he does not want to leave you where you are: He
wants to take you on a journey of being more and more like Christ. And that necessarily means purging out
the bad things in our lives; the trusting in other created thing rather than the Creator.

He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us - and yet I know it is easy to say this out loud but
a totally different thing to live it out. Let me encourage you that as Paul says, God is faithful, he will not let
you be tempted, tested beyond what we can bear. In the midst of that temptation, that testing, he will always
provide a way out so that we can stand up under it.

So today even as we pray "Come Lord Jesus", let us also pray "Lord, let your will be done in me, as I wait".

Closing Prayer

Let's pray.

Romans 8:28 - More Than Conquerors

 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called

according to his purpose.





Dear God thank you that you are sovereign. That there is nothing in the world over which you do not hold dominion.

Nothing exists nor happens unless you decree it to be so.



But you are not only sovereign O Lord but you are a loving God who is committed to our Joy.



O Lord you have put in all our hearts the desire to be happy. And we know that any happiness we make for ourselves

are just not good enough for you have designed us with eternity in our hearts.



Thank you that you have given us joy and hope in the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ. We now

know that we have a future - a life beyond this body that will surely suffer and die.



And yet your love and generosity extends further than this promise of a new life, and you give us joy in abundance

by the promise of an eternal, imperishable inheritance in heaven that you have set apart for us and for which we

are being shielded and set apart too.



But that is not all, although those are already far more than we deserve. You have seen our paltry faith worthy of

refining so that it becomes of greater quality, and may result in us sharing in your praise and honor and glory.



O Lord forgive us for we sometimes do not see your hand in the distresses in our lives. Grant that we may leave

today fully convicted that you are working, you are ever working in our lives, painting on our canvas a glorious

picture that will bring glory to you.



We commit therefore to you all our distresses, and recognize that we are not equal to them. But you are, and more.

Lord help us to rejoice in our circumstances.



Amen.