Today on the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is what an everlasting rock. He's the rock of ages. When my life is turned upside down, I do know this: that God is good, that He is with me, that He has saved my soul, and that there's nothing in the whole universe which can separate me from His love. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
Sometimes problems come slowly into our lives, but other times, devastating situations come like bolts from the blue, unexpected and unpredicted. Today on the Verdict, we're turning to Scripture for practical help for what to do when life turns upside down.
Now, to get us started and to introduce his message, here's Pastor John Monroe. I hope you've been enjoying our series with wings like eagles, soaring high in life's challenges. While there are great mountaintop experiences in life, wonderful moments of joy and triumph, there are always times in the valley of despair, of darkness, of abandonment, of deep, deep pain. Today we're thinking of situations where life turns upside down. Life seems to be going along pretty good in a fairly routine way.
Then, unexpectedly, everything changes, and we realize that life will never be the same again. We're totally blindsided. We didn't see this coming, and it sends us reeling. Have you ever felt like that? I have.
Today we're looking at the New Testament book of First Peter to help us with this situation when life turns upside down. Even when our life is turned upside down, some of you have experienced, as I have, that God often surprises us with His grace. In the worst situations of life, we experience the grace and the love of God.
Now. Peter writes about this. Let's learn how to respond when life turns upside down. We stand with me and read from First Peter chapter one, and we're going to read from verses six through twelve. Let's read this together.
These marvelous words written two thousand years ago by the apostle Peter to Christians who were suffering. He writes this. Read with me. In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary. You've been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him. And rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time. The Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things into which angels long to look. Amen. Please be seated. We're learning, first of all, that life does sometimes turn upside down for followers of Jesus.
When you think of it, our society—and by that I mean Western society here in North America and in Europe—our society seeks to eliminate pain and suffering.
Now, our lives, all of our lives, sitting here, are much, much easier than our forefathers. Go back a generation or two, go back to your grandparents, and certainly your great grandparents. The fact is that the poorest person in the West lives much better than the richest person did only. A hundred, say, a hundred years ago or so. What do we have today?
We have electricity, we have cars, we have running water, we have kitchen appliances. Think of the advances in medicine, technology, or mobile phones, and all of that. Life is so much easier for us, isn't it, than it was in generations back? But now, although we have all of these comforts, All of these great blessings, isn't it the case that the slightest pain, the most minor of inconveniences, the merest suggestion of a difficulty, the most trivial of misunderstandings, the smallest of disappointments, and we start complaining, blaming others, and feeling sorry for ourselves? We live in a therapeutic society, where an instant cure must be found.
To all of our pains and problems, I'm old enough to remember the old school dentist that came. There was no Novocaine or anything. It had that terrible grinding sound, and a whole generation of Scottish boys and girls grew up being very afraid of the dentist.
Now it's so different. I'm not saying I enjoy going to the dentist, but it's so much easier. There's hardly any pain at all, and that's wonderful, isn't it? But there's a flip side to that. Not only do we look for relief from our pain and our suffering, we almost demand it.
So the relief of pain is a multi-dollar industry. We think there must be a pill somewhere. There must be a cure somewhere for instant relief.
So we have an ejector seat mentality when pain and suffering come. Bail me out of this situation, God! You owe it to me. Get rid of the pain. Get rid of the suffering.
Change my difficult circumstances. I sense my life is being turned upside down. You must stop it. And to accommodate that attitude, the Christian life is sometimes falsely presented. As always, positive.
As always, successful. Everything's got to be upbeat in some brands of the so-called Christian faith. Everything, in fact, has to be fun, as if we were children stuck permanently in kindergarten. Everything's got to be fun, fun, fun. Have you noticed this in in some churches, in some brands of of Christianity?
It's almost a denial of our humanity. It seems to ignore that amidst the so-called fun, many people are not smiling. That there are tears, there is sorrow, there are difficulties. And previous generations of Christians sang much about heaven. They spoke much about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But now, we're much more likely to focus on our comfort. My happiness at the moment.
Some preachers even say that your best life is now. Your best life now. I mean, what's heaven to be? If my best life is now, no, it's not the question of the future. It's now.
I've got to have this wonderful, upbeat, everything successful life now. It's all about me, I, myself, and mine. Peter will have none of that. He explains in the passage we've read and throughout his wonderful first epistle that followers of Jesus, yes, sincere followers of Jesus, do suffer. He's writing to suffering Christians.
Open your Bible with me to First Peter one, if you haven't already done so, and read with me again First Peter one, verse six. In this, you rejoice. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you've been grieved by various trials. Chapter two, verse twenty-one. First Peter two, verse twenty-one.
For to this you've been called, because Christ also suffered for you. Yes, we are following a suffering Savior. The one who was described not as a man of fun, but a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. Chapter four, verse twelve, beloved. Do not be surprised that the fiery trial, when it comes upon you, to test you, as though something strange was happening to you.
Don't be too surprised when these problems come. Don't be too surprised when you find your life turned upside down. These things are not strange. They happen to followers of Christ, and they're there to test you. Peter says, Chapter Five.
Verse nine, as he talks about the devil, he says, "Resist him." That's the devil. He wants to ruin your Christian life. Firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. It's not just you that's suffering, sister. That's true of believers throughout the world.
Verse ten. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion, forever and ever. Amen. It's incontrovertible, isn't it?
From this passage, from this epistle, and throughout of Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, that followers of Christ, people of faith in God, experience suffering. You are not immune. I am not immune.
Now Peter is not saying that we will always suffer, but he is saying that when suffering comes into your life, don't be too surprised. And I have found, and I think many of you have found, that one of the most important attributes of God that we must grasp, that we must understand, in a sense, almost feel in the depth of our soul when our life is turned upside down. One of the most important attributes of God is that God is sovereign. We've seen that before in this series, haven't we? As we looked at Isaiah and various portions, that God, not you, not me, God is the absolute ruler of everything.
That means that God is always in control. He rules over the fall of the nations, over the fall of the rain, over the fall. Of the sparrow, that God is sovereign. That God works all things to the counsel of His will. That God, this great God that we are following, that we are trusting in, the Lord God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, this one whose understanding is unsearchable, this God is in control, and this God does whatever He pleases.
Why? He's the true God. He's the sovereign God. If you think that you're in control of your of your life, you're in for a shock, aren't you? You're not in control of your health.
You think your your job's secure? That can change in a microsecond, doesn't it? You feel very very fit today. You think you're the fittest person here? That may be.
That can change, can't it? In a moment. You think your family is wonderful? You boast about others about your wonderful family. That can change in a moment.
That you're not in control. Here's a true story, which I recently read, with a man called Bob Henderson. He's a PhD in physics, very bright guy, and he's hired by Wall Street for his experience modeling the universe with math, based on the belief. That the same could be done for the markets, particularly for derivatives. He studied physics, he said, because he wanted to make sense of the world, if not to control it, then at least to control his experience of it, to organize it for the comfort that comes with order.
I think all of us can understand that to some extent. We may know nothing about derivatives. We may not have a PhD in physics, but in a sense, we all want to make sense of our own world. In a sense, to control it.
Well, Bob Henderson, he did well with a bank, and was not only a derivative trader but also the supervisor. He says of the bank's oiling options trading team, he did brilliantly, making a lot of money. But during the two thousand and eight financial crisis, he lost two hundred million dollars.
Now that may not seem a lot to some of you, but it's a lot to me. And he said this: "This man is not writing as a believer in Jesus Christ. This is not from Christianity today. This is from a secular publication." He said, as I read his experience, the crisis taught him. About the illusion of control, boy, that's a good lesson, isn't it, Bob Henderson?
Imagine losing two hundred million dollars in one month. No, Bob Henderson learned what we must all learn: we cannot control our own lives, and when God. Allows suffering to come into our lives. It's a reminder to us, a difficult reminder, a hard lesson for most of us that God is in control, and we are not. You see, God, the Lord, is answerable to no one.
You've been reading Isaiah. You understand that, don't you? He's the Lord God. He's Yahweh. He doesn't need anyone's permission to do anything.
The authority of the Lord is unlimited and unrestrained by anything outside of Himself. He does whatever He pleases. He's God. He's the sovereign King. He's the Creator.
Everything belongs to Him. He sustains everything by the Word of His power. We sometimes sing with our children. He's got the whole world in His hand, and He's got your little world, your little mini mini mini world. He's got your world in his hand, and he sustains everything by the word of his power.
I'm thinking this: if God keeps all of the planets in control, doesn't He? I'm not worried that Venus or Mars is going to spin out of control, are we? No, God sustains the whole universe by the word of His power. He's that brilliant. He's that powerful.
His knowledge is unsearchable.
Now, if that is true, and it is, doesn't it make sense for you, rather than doubting God, to trust God, to surrender your whole life to Him? Doesn't that make sense? If what we're saying about God is true, if the Bible is true. What we're apt to do with our little God, our tame God, a God that we can use for our own purposes, a God that we can turn to in crisis, and then when life is good to ignore him—it's kind of nice. It's like an insurance policy.
You don't hope you ever need it, but if you do need it, it's good to know it's there. No, don't treat God like that. God doesn't like being taken for granted. He's not a genie in a bottle doing what you want him to do. He's the supreme God.
He's the Lord God who's sovereign over the whole universe.
So when our lives are turned upside down, it's not a matter of bad luck. People say that. Oh, it's bad luck. Oh, it's not bad luck. It's not fate.
It's not coincidence. There's no surprises to God. Many surprises to us, but not to God. What's unexpected to us is all part of God's sovereign purposes, and if you've been following Jesus for few years, you can look back and you can see that that what at the time seemed the worst circumstance in your life turns out to be one of the greatest blessings. And so, an understanding of these truths gives us great comfort.
Can I say it gives us great security when life is turned upside down? We sometimes sing that wonderful hymn when darkness veils His lovely face. When your life's turned upside down, you feel in the dark, don't you? You wonder where God is. He doesn't seem to be speak to you.
Seems as we thought the other week that he's abandoned us. We we sometimes don't feel his presence. We don't hear his voice. When darkness veils his lovely face, what are we to do? I rest on his unchanging grace.
Oh, that's it. My life seems very insecure. Changes in ways I can't control. Perhaps I wouldn't like, like your life. What do we do?
We rest on God's unchanging grace. That the grace of God will always be there. Malachi says, "Of the Lord, I am the Lord; I change not." Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, yes, and forever. We change, our circumstances change, our work situation change, our family circumstances, our relationships, our financial security, our health. Everything around us is changing, but not God.
Jesus is the same yesterday. He saved your soul yesterday. He's with you today, yes, and forever. When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, a solid rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Have you experienced that? In the storm of your life, when you think you may not survive, we have our anchor on Christ. That's the solid rock.
Everything around us, what we thought was secure—whether it's our bank balance or whether it's our family or our friends or our career or whatever else it is—they are shaking. But Christ is the solid rock. Isaiah twenty six, again you will keep him in perfect peace, shalom shalom. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is what an everlasting rock.
He's the rock of ages. I can absolutely depend on Him when everything around is shaking, when my life is turned upside down. I do know this: that God is good, that He is with me, that He has saved my soul, and that there is nothing in the whole universe which can separate me from His love. Yes, you do suffer. Yes, I cannot explain all of the circumstances of your life.
Yes, I agree with you that from our perspective, life sometimes seems very unfair, very unjust. We sympathize with you. We understand to some extent. We try to enter into your suffering, but often we cannot get it. But we do know this: that God is good.
And says Peter that when these sufferings come, you can rejoice, and he gives at least two reasons for these in the verses we looked at. First of all, when your life turns upside down, it's only temporary. First Peter one verse six again. In this, you rejoice. That's tough.
Survival mode is one thing. Endurance is one thing. Rejoicing. Joy. That's another thing, isn't it?
What will help us? Says Peter. This, in this, rejoice, though now for a little while, sufferings and trials are only for a little while. The same expression is read in. Chapter five, verse ten, that we read together, and after you have suffered a little while—same expression, a little while—you are listening to the verdict with the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
John will be right back with more on today's message.
So don't go anywhere. If God exists, why is there such evil in the world? Isn't it bigoted to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven? And how could a loving God send anyone to hell? These are tough questions, but they're also real questions.
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Well, what's your verdict? How have you responded when your life has turned upside down? What have you said to friends or family or brothers and sisters who have experienced these devastating situations? In a sense, there are no easy answers, but we're learning from the Word of God that the one constant is our great God. He is our unchanging and unchangeable rock, and His love for us is demonstrated at the cross of Christ.
Tune in next time as we continue to think of situations when life turns upside down. Thanks for joining us today on the Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
