Perhaps you’ve been to
Yet, great challenges face
those very same Churches. At a conference I was at recently, we were told that
because of the rapid changes in population, because of the movement of people
out of central Amsterdam, the old city, the presbyterian Church there is facing
very great challenges………. when a recent survey was taken on a Sunday morning in
the presbyterian Churches in Amsterdam, it was discovered that only two and a
half thousand people attended worship for the whole of the city of Amsterdam…..
Yet, and this has stayed with
me, as one
researcher at the conference reminded us
–
on paper two and a half thousand people seems so
little…. but what those statistics don’t tell us – is the work that those
Church members do - those Christian people – the statistics of Church attendance
don’t tell us about the care for elderly neighbours, the lunch clubs that are
run, the visits to the hospital, the flowers sent when someone is bereaved…
none of that……the statistics don’t tell us about the faithfulness of men and
women in the Church there.
And it struck me, when I read
it during the week, how appropriate the verse we read in 1 Peter 4 is for the
Church in central
“Those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to
their faithful Creator and continue to do good”(1Peter4.19).
You see, the Church faces many
challenges throughout the world.
In parts of
In
Just like the Churches that
Peter writes to in the letter we read this morning.
Instead of becoming disheartened, or demoralised,
they have not given up, but “continue to do good” as Peter says……..
they
have committed themselves to the living God, the Father who is always steadfast
and faithful.
When Peter wrote this letter
around the year 60 AD, he was writing to a group of
small congregations, in
Now, if we take the New
Testament as a whole, we find that the New Testament has a great deal to say
about the challenges that face the
And one great theme of the New
Testament declares this: that when the pressure is on the Church, it is good for us.
Why ?
because pressures and difficulties refine the
Church.
For example, James says: My brothers, consider yourselves fortunate
when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing
such trials, the result is the ability to endure.
The apostle Paul goes further:
We …. boast of
our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings
God’s approval, and His approval creates hope.
or
again
from
1 Cor. 10.13 God keeps His promise and He
will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time
you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so
provide you with a way out.
Pressures, challenges,
difficulties, persecution, refine our faith and our trust in our Father in
heaven. As the men and women of the
Church commit themselves to their
faithful Creator and continue to do good despite
the pressures, difficulties and challenges,
so
the true character of the Church of Jesus Christ shines through.
In times such as these the Church discovers where its resources are, where its life is – in Jesus Christ.
So the New Testament often
speaks of difficulties, challenges, persecution, in
Christian life as a test, which our loving Father
permits, which strengthens and deepens, refines and purifies our faith, our
love, our hope.
But in the passage we read
from 1 Peter, Peter strikes another ringing note…
to
the Churches in
What does this mean ?
Well, what Peter is saying
here is this: that to share in the life of Jesus Christ,
is to share in His sufferings……
Paul says the same in
Philippians 3.10: all I want is to know
Christ, to experience the power of His resurrection and to share in His
sufferings….
And as
Hebrews proclaims:
when
we face testing times, difficult times of whatever kind, Jesus Christ is able
to help us, because He himself, trusting
in the Father in heaven has faced testing, difficult times, and the Cross
itself……………
This is why Peter writes: do not be surprised at the testing times,
the challenges and the difficulties you face…. this is not unusual…………..
Challenges, difficulties,
testing times for the Church….. these are not unusual,
for
through these our loving Father in heaven refines our faith, strengthens our
trust in Him, purifies our hope in Jesus Christ,
and deeper still, we find
ourselves sharing these testing times with Jesus Christ, knowing ever more
deeply what it is to share His life, and to share His cross, and knowing, as
Paul says, through it all, what it is to
share His glory.
In a moment, we will stand up to covenant, to commit ourselves as a congregation to the days ahead, to commit ourselves anew to the different kinds of work we all do in this congregation – from looking after the property, to visiting the sick, to caring for neighbours, reading from the Scriptures, singing, making music, cleaning the halls, running the various organisations, and meetings, preaching and so on.
Yet, as the Word of the Lord
teaches us,
we
are committing ourselves to more than just this.
We are committing ourselves
to
sharing the life of Jesus Christ,
to sharing in Him the difficulties and challenges that lie ahead, whatever they may be…..
knowing
in gladness
that
whatever the difficulties and challenges that lie ahead for us may be
as a
congregation,
they
will draw us closer to Jesus Christ,
and
bring us to share more deeply in His life
Be glad, says Peter, that you are sharing…..
with Him,
so that you may be full of joy when His glory is revealed
AMEN