The Fiery Ordeal

The following is part of a sermon that I will be giving on Sunday, when I travel to another church to preach. This is probably half of what I am going to say and is definitely a work in progress:

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Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1 Pet 4: 12, NIV

I don’t know about you, but this can be a difficult passage. If you take God’s commands seriously, this will be difficult for you. If you are prepared to respond to God by saying, “Here am I. Send me!” when He says, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Then this will be a difficult passage for you.

Why will this be a difficult passage? Let me reread part of the verse, “do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you.” Do not be surprised. I repeat, do not be surprised. I’m sure Steve has told you before, and I’m telling you now that if you obey God, the world will react to you. I’m not your pastor, so I’m not going to sugar-coat things. If you obey God, the world will react to your obedience.

How will the world react? Peter says there will be a fiery ordeal to test you. God will allow the world to test you. Let me remind you of a few examples in the Bible. When Peter and John went to pray in the Temple in Jerusalem, they came across a lame man. The man wanted some money, but instead Peter said to him, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” This is what the man needed. He didn’t need charity; he needed to be made whole. The whole city was amazed, and Peter, seeing an opportunity, shared the gospel with the public. Peter said, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.“ The lame man was healed, and Peter shared the gospel message.

What was the result of this? Peter and John were hauled in front of the Sanhedrin. Remember, just a few days beforehand, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, and look at what happened to Him. The Sanhedrin, a kangaroo court, condemned Jesus to death, and within a few hours, he was dead. Now it was Peter and John’s turn to be in front of the Sanhedrin. It was late at night, so they imprisoned the two Apostles.

Let me read out a passage from Hebrews 12: “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them.”

This is the fiery test that the Christians of old had to experience. Today, here in Britain, we have street pastors arrested and taken to court because they have shared the gospel with the public. But the question for each of us is this: Are you going to stand up and be counted?