I Don’t Belong Here, Part 2

Jeannie Greer talks about what you're showing you thermostat your thermostat. It's the cold that kicks on the income on right cold suffering is what takes on the eve of your faith. There is a kind of joy inexpressible joy you have never really felt because you've never been to the payment.

The space he welcomed Summit life with pastor Jeannie Greer and Molly benefits you know a lot of people come to Jesus with the expectation that he will make your life better. It's not the day thinking to be perfect, but they still sort of expect some improvements now happier family financial stability and a helpline set to speak when things get sticky.

But the problem is, the Bible never promised us an easy life. In fact, Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble. So how should we respond when life gets hard.

Let's join Pastor JD as he answers this question from a biblical perspective. Your Bible over the first writes this book is normal. God's normal people rights of the people who are in the midst of suffering verse one Peter says Peter apostle of Jesus Christ to those who are elect exiles of the dispersant in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia Bithynia. I elect exiles is a very important thing elect means that they are the chosen people of God exiles means that they're not of their home territory. Some translations may even say aliens.

There what makes them odd is how they don't listen at all the things that the world says is important and primarily that shows up to show you with the question suffering what separates listen the people of God for the people of the world. Most distinctly, you see this in verse Peter is how they respond to disappointment.

How they respond to pain and how have they have hope in the midst of suffering by verse three Blessed be he says the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his great mercy.

According to his great mercy. Peter starts out reminding them of the mercy of God in their lives in God's mercy, he has made us to be born again to a living hope the living hope living hope is what you look forward to.

On the other side of pain is what tells you that everything's going to be okay is what tells you that it's all to be worth it.

Where does this happen through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled baby kept in heaven for you, far away from anything but death or disease could touch Peter says I see this inheritance is very important. I see this inheritance through the resurrection of Jesus. Think for a minute about what the resurrection of Jesus member Peter the darkest day of Peter's life had been with Jesus died on the cross. Peter had left everything to follow Jesus left his business. He left his home and now Jesus had died. It threw him into a despair about your scholars tell us that the reason that Peter denied Christ three times in the space of an hour is because he was disappointed disappointed Jesus had not told what he thought Jesus would become Friday and Saturday.

Peter is utter despair. But then Sunday morning he goes and there's an empty tomb and determine any sees Jesus face-to-face and he realized that all time even when Peter thought that was the darkest time to get a magic God had a plan. Here's another thing I think Peter probably means of by the resurrection, and I bring this up with you a good bit because it's time to deepen, but it's really important Peter Saul and the resurrection that the time that look like God was most out of control across time and after God was in control because it wasn't just that God fixed the problem of the cross right it was that the cross actually was the thing that God was using should be good to mankind.

It look like I was out of control, but that was actually what God was doing his greatest work. What if you sold your life to the lives of the cross of the resurrection. What if you believe what you saw and believed that there was a glorious Sunday morning coming whenever something would come untrue when there would be an inheritance. The death disease could never touch and you Saul without even the most painful parts of your life. God was working toward that glorious in if you Saul, that you could just grasp it and live in it for just a second. You believe that what would that give you what you say. Hope so Peter says verse six. In this and this is what in this promise, you rejoice there now for a little while, if necessary, you been grieved by various trials or something really interesting about the two birds in that sentence rejoice in grieved first. They're both very intense verbs rejoice means intense rejoicing. Peter will in just a few verses say joy that is inexpressible you ever been so overwhelmingly happy about this. Could speak that he's talking about a joy does not display I'm happy he's talking about a joy that is so intense that words can't Flush it out, grieved, grieved, is the Greek word Lou Pao, which means intense grief. It's the same word was used of Jesus what he says he was sorrowful at the Dell when he was on his way to the cross right sets you notice the book intense verbs. Second, they're both present tense verbs together. Here's what you get walking less and walking with Jesus is often simultaneously great joy deeply. So if you don't think that's possible. Some of you can't have joy in the midst of bad circumstances because your joy is in certain circumstances, you enjoy what you have is happiness. Visitors enjoy happiness. Happiness is when the happenings of your life where they should be joyous, something different altogether.

Then Lisa's got a joy so you can have joy in the midst of painful circumstances does your joy certain set of circumstances that others in your other Christians is one my pet peeves where to numb yourself to reality that there is pain and you kinda put this white positive spin on its you know where were you this is everything you walk out the surreal look on your face all chipper you know God is good all the time, but we never get over that dessert. God is good. You know you like all others, like doing what God don't worry, God put a rainbow on a dark cloud. There's a silver lining. Jesus went to the cross, you know, and the father revealed to him that he should have to die the cross, Jesus is not like, well, praise Lord was overwhelmed with sorrow. He wept, he cried out to God Christian's heart.

They hurt but see their heart can only go so deep because their ultimate hope is in a God who brings back life from the dead, the God return tragedy to triumph God takes us through the cross to bring us to the resurrection so they can simultaneously be filled intense joy and deep pain that will Peter showing you is a thermostat your thermostat. It's the cold that ticks on the thermostat McPhee come on right cold suffering is what ticks on the heat of your faith.

There is a kind of joy inexpressible joy. Some of you have never really felt because you've never been to the payment despair you go through the payment despair.

That's when God uses the cold, a despair dictate on an intensity of faith and intensity of joy that will become you inexpressible because you will simultaneously be filled with deep sorrow and unspeakable joy so he goes number seven so that watch the tested genuineness of your faith faith that is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire piercing God's purpose in this is allowing these trials to purify faith in you is like gold I do not believe your goldsmiths.

But what they say is that when you want to purify gold you heated up because what will happen is as your you develop gold is one of the last things that would evaporate. So all the impurities, what they call the draw float to the top of the gold they scrape them all the remaining gold much more pure. As a result of it having both of the furnace. Peter says that's what these trials are like they are heating up your life so that the impurities of your faith, places where it looks like you have faith that you don't really have faith will be burned away trials were builders, places, we don't really trust God. But some of you don't trust God that we know that because as soon as things are going wrong, you start thinking all God, you forgot me got where you got.

I don't deserve this. You don't trust him as I was prepared. This message is is really strong impression that there is a lady here which campus she's out there's a ladies about to give up on her marriage usually trust God. You don't trust God to continue to work in your marriage, and to sustain you. So you're about to take matters in your own hands. Trials reveal those places really trust God trials were real were you love God gives more than you love God that I know you've got several stories like this, Grover. There's prosperity churches that basically teach you that you know if you serve God, we should give you all the blessings of life is your brother Carl in the right neighborhood. This Gartner for a while and he was super excited about God. He was in the God. But then he got disappointed. Things started to go wrong for him and I don't believe in God at all that he's kind of gotten into the you know sort about the new atheism looking for reasons to discredit the Christian faith is faith and his joy was never really a goddess faith in his joy was in the things that God, he thought to give him that's the problem I have the prosperity gospel. It turns God into a means to an end.

It gets people excited about God turn on the TV and watched the prosperity gospel serves as you'll see people excited about God hands in here wave and scream at God for their site about God excited about winning lottery ticket actual lottery ticket I is just a piece of paper, but if it's you I get hundred $50 million from it becomes vital you hang onto excited about, but the moment I get that hundred $50 million of the way the ticket as I went into the ticket. I was just the means to their excited about God, but not because of God because what they think I can give them the prosperity gospel creates idolaters who use God as a means to his gifts rather than lovers of God would give up his gifts to possess trials show you both those things trials purify your faith. You never really had your faith tested maybe until now. Never read your faith tested.

This is happened to me several times when most distinctions when a services church planter the situation which I will go into detail now, but this one I was very afraid.

Some friends of mine that were on our team would be put into prison was a mob that burned their cars to three days. It look like our lives were in danger since the time I was 16 years old I been set up in places like this and tell people that you need to be bold and to give your life for Jesus to say something when you think somebody is about to take you up on that offer.

It's an altogether different ballgame as River how terrified I was.

How afraid I was ready to give up my life for Jesus. I didn't trust God if I could have dug a hole and buried myself in it. That's what I would've done how humiliated I felt during that time because the talk of my faith was revealed as draws. I saw very little actual faith or once your bifida. Peter got the point where he felt humiliated because all this talk about how good God for you, Jesus, and then things are going wrong and he denied Jesus three times in the space of an hour.

Peter felt humiliated. I know what it's like to go through this, but don't resist it because God is not your producing something in you that is more valuable to you than gold and is something that can give you more joy than any blessing of God could ever give to you too.

Can you believe that.

Can you believe that in your dark moment God might be doing it because he loves you and teaching you to trust him and I would join him that you probably couldn't get any other way.

Hey, I was reading my Bible the other day from the Gospel of John and I came across a story that you must be familiar with the story, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and I noticed something in this story that I'd never seen before properties of us a dozen times never seen it hibiscus to resist. Jesus is good friends with Lazarus, Mary, Martha he genuinely loves them. There you know the part of historical here's a Lazarus is sick, well written about having Jesus friends when you're sick, Jesus comes and heals you right so this is a mess as I hate Jesus Lazarus that you might want to come on down here. You will neglect your business to. Here's what it says okay this one now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus verse six so when he heard that Lazarus was ill. He stayed two days over the place where was a little out of wrist.non sequitur. If Jesus loved, and he would go helium, but no. Because so because he loved them. You let Lazarus die because there was something about himself that they could not learn how to just going to heal Lazarus and the greatest act of love that God can give to us is not any blessing that he gives us it's allowing us to see it no more of himself besieged joy inexpressible doesn't come from any of God's blessings. Happiness comes from some of God's blessings, joy inexpressible comes from God himself. Inexpressible joy comes not from any of his blessings but knowing him himself because God is better than all of his gifts. Trials produce that they produce joy. They produce the faith that produces joy almost where the coal kicks on the thermostat and make the jicama for seven so that your faith, he says may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Here's a question, praise and glory and honor is that praise and glory and honor that we get to Jesus words that praise and glory and honor the Jesus gives us the answer really get wrong, but we think praise going on. That's always things we get to Jesus and minister. But in this case, every commentary that I consulted said this. This is praise and glory and honor that come from. Peter looks forward to that and says I am willing to be in exile a stranger. I want to be nobody here because showing that is so intense that I don't care about anybody else's opinion any longer. Then a guy who depended like many of us on the opinions of others is that there's that awesome ridiculous stupid seen in the Gospels where Jesus and as I was walking on the road. If you broke their argument.

Jesus say what you argue about, you talk about something and knowing is like a pretty dumb sovereign God suffered much notice what you admitted like okay I will argue about which one of us is going to be the Christ, which one of us is going to sit at your right and your left hand of the kingdom of God, but that was Peter that Peter always thinking about how my looking for whatever buddy else now appears in a place where he's like I don't care about praise and honor and glory from you. What did I get it from Jesus.

What good is the high opinions of a bunch of Nortel earthlings, which is all of you with no fit what what what difference does the high opinions of a bunch of no account earthlings matter if I've got the approval of the only God approves only matters anyway. I'll be despised by everybody if I know that I'm looking forward to that with you that haven't destroyed while but I'll talk to the perversion of some of you have been running alone if you ever tell the story what one of the greatest moments of my life happened when I was 22 years old and it was the first or sooner Lester because you can remember, but I was coaching a soccer team so I could just wonder boy, Socrates, I can't remember what Leah was but I remember that they were awesome and they were awesome, probably because are great athletes but partly because those records and we made it all the way through the season undefeated, undefeated. We made it to the hornet County semi finals art guys walked on that field. It was it was and I gave our first night game. It was a big deal out of what they were there.

This article, I remember I got Kimberly it was but a lot of parents there are gospel from the field.

This little ritual okay were the Lord, take off their shirts. They would spit on the ground is fully getting started. They were white. My big little paws mud and they would wipe it on the faces on their chest to put their shirts back on before the game ever started they would like they've been in an Irish potato war like that where they just abuse.

They were older boys that change talk about the voice change everything and so these guys think they went to the ritual. They walk on that field so caught they got to the final supported reflected really lost three to one that was just because I'd set up such an awesome defensive strategy that everything is good score, but the other team dominated the day and they really didn't want those ones were we just hardly got any shots on goal. They must've gotten onto and settle this one player in the team listen close to this biggest one player on their team and she was also a little chauvinist, had no category for this. They had no way the process that the most awesome player they had dealt with all season was a girl I've no idea who this girl was back was about the time that Mia Hamm would've been 12 years old I went back and look it up. She played nowhere near hornet County, but she was like she was like Michael Jordan with a soccer ball.

If they're going to be. She could do just about where we encounter all season.

She must've gotten 50 shots on goal to mess up the second-half allusion to the one I pulled out one of our fullbacks. A kid named David I'm sick and tired of that girl getting shots on goal is to coach. I hate that girl David Julie to hate her, but but we need to stop her like David Deborah cannot get another shot. I know your state media circuit you got one assignment for the remaining 10 minutes of this day disregards David she is your assignment anytime that girl steps foot in the penalty box with the ball. I want that girl on her really you understand me, David. Yes sir coach is a David that's her only son got an extra burst into flames. That's not your responsibility seizures. What yes sir coach David turned director from Tempe from Outlook. David do it legally as we worked on.

This was called a slide tackle.

That's right. And so, so you feel two minutes passed by. I honestly forgot about what I'd said to him because I'm noticing this. This genius come down the left side of the field. She goes through to send the course goes to the rightful back like I don't know what she done using the pedal position drivers Bob. She comes back out to the middle.

David played stopper.

It was the sweeper and the going door to people that were there and she does something with her I should pump fake or something, but they just disappeared. Only where the guys went in search of her wide-open goal. About that time the thought crossed my mind� She is done against you wide-open goal. This is yet the end of the game. The left side of my peripheral vision comes this bull her, his tractor beam on he hits her from behind. I mean full spread Eagle attack just beautiful. It's like a swan.he hits her big cloud of dust and it was one of those moments. Everybody was like did not just happen that just happen and so the dust settles for a minute and it was like everybody on the field.

Everybody in the field gets angry at once right because this was what happened there to offer different reasons. Their team is angry because they think you would try to take another star player the referees angry because he's like did you give to a red card means 12 years old going out for the rest of the season.

RT was angry because they knew they handed the other team apparently to the penalty box.

RTR parents are angry. They think psycho coach that does get in the big gorilla but I think you will see, that's the actually one of my favorite Pastor JD story and will hear the conclusion of that story tomorrow so don't miss it. Meanwhile, you can catch up on JD's previous messages by going online to JD Greer.com you can also download sermon transcripts browse pastor JD's blog and subscribe to receive future blog post in your email.

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