Entrusting Our Souls: Doing Good Amid Suffering

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Therefore let those who suffer according to god's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good and the question i want to ask is how do you do good to those who are hurting you this is unbelievably difficult and today as i see things people are opposing this kind of teaching because they say if you encourage the doing of good to those who hurt you you're an enabler you're compromising you're joining the abuser in his evil if you encourage love or returning good for evil. [00:00:15]

So father i know how hard this is for me to to do good to those who hurt me offend me and i pray for miracles to happen through the meditation on your word so that we would be the kind of counter cultural people you call us to be as citizens of heaven in jesus name amen let me read this in context it is time for judgment to begin with the household of god and if it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of god. [00:01:33]

What does according to god's will mean it defines suffering does it mean uh here's first possibility if you suffer that's god's will or does it mean the way you suffer should be according to god's will the if you suffer is he saying god will decide whether you suffer or not and one of the things supporting that interpretation would be noticing right here that judgment begins with the household of god and that is this suffering so it's clearly god's ultimate design. [00:02:32]

And we know that's the case back in chapter 3 verse 17 it is better for you better to suffer for doing good if if that should be god's will so it might mean meaning number one that suffering according to god's will means if god wills we suffer or it might mean suffer in the way god wants you to suffer and remember just what few verses earlier in verse 15 let none of you suffer as a murderer a thief or an evil doer or a meddler. [00:03:28]

Don't suffer that way suffer according to god's will doing good not doing evil now frankly i do not know for sure which one of those peter intended but what i do know this here's a strategy for thinking and teaching and preaching and counseling when you run into a situation like this where you're not sure which of the meanings is meant here by peter and yet you know from 317 and from this word right here that meaning number one is true. [00:04:09]

And you know that there is a way to to suffer that pleases god and in verse 15 a way to summer that displeases god this meaning is also true you can just say that say that to your small grouper say that to your congregation i'm not sure but both are true and so let's just let both stand here and maybe one will help make sense of the rest of the verse and therefore commend itself so we let those who suffer if god wills or let those who suffer in the way god approves. [00:04:47]

They are commanded to do they are commanded to entrust their souls to a faithful creator while or in doing good not just entrust your soul to a faithful creator and wait around to go to heaven while the world goes to hell in the handbasket and it doesn't make any difference what you do to it because it's rotten to the core and none of your good deeds are going to make any difference anyway that's not the way peter thinks he says and trust your souls doing good. [00:05:25]

So we're not promised that we'll be given life here but we are promised we ought to be doing good till the day we die till we take our last breath our job on planet earth is do as much good to other people as we can nor does he say just do good you know screw up your courage be a stoic pretend like the the suffering doesn't hurt and and be a a person who does lots of good this is not what he says he says both and you got to take them together. [00:06:01]

And trust your souls while doing good or in doing good so in answer to the question that i raised at the beginning how do you do good to those who hurt you the answer is by trusting and trusting your soul to a faithful creator what is what is that do you remember chapter 2 verse 23 when jesus was reviled 2 23 when jesus was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but he continued entrusting himself to the one who judges justly. [00:06:36]

The way jesus endured the cross and kept doing good for us ultimately ultimate good for us was by entrusting himself to his father and here he is doing it in luke 23 46 jesus calling out with a loud voice on the cross and said father into your hands i commit that's the same word for and trust to a faithful creator i commit my spirit that's the way you're able to do good you you trust your soul to a god who back here in verse 18 saves the righteous is scarcely saved. [00:07:22]

But oh they are saved this soul is going to be saved and you can utterly count on it by entrusting your soul so no matter what they do to you you are safe forever and ever which frees you to be done with revenge hand that over to god and keep on doing good which leaves one last question for me and i'm sure there are others why does it say to a faithful creator why not to a merciful father or a great savior or why focus on the word creator and faithful. [00:08:02]

Of course the word faithful conjures up he keeps his promises promises what like 3 12 the eyes of the lord are on the righteous his ears are open to their prayer he hasn't ignored you he's not looking away from you but the face of the lord is against those who do evil and that's these people that are treating you so badly his faith is against those who do evil his eyes are on you and he keeps his promises so we expect faithful we need a faithful god. [00:08:39]

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