Chapter 18
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
In previous studies we found that the Old Testament sacrificial system and blood sacrifices were foreshadowing’s to teach us about the forgiveness and deliverance from sin that Jesus Christ purchased for you and I. Specifically, through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ fulfilled the requirements of the whole Old Testament sacrificial system and established a new covenant between God and man. In other words, it is through Jesus Christ and His merits that you and I can confidently come before God the Father.
As we study the Old Testament we also find embedded in the sacrificial system the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which was the thank offering. What we will find in this study is that the thank offering was also a foreshadowing. Specifically, it was given to teach us about the importance of offering our praise and thanksgiving to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ. To see this, we will explore both the Old and New Testaments. However, before we do, let us first come before our God and ask for His blessing upon this time.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before You in the Name of my Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ. I ask that You would please bless this time with You and help me to truly realize all the blessings You have freely bestowed upon me.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
For us to better understand this whole subject of praise and thanksgiving to our God, we will:
1. See that when we offer God praise and thanksgiving we not only honor Him but also prepare the way for God to give our hearts peace beyond all understanding.
2. Review the Old Testament requirements for the sacrifice of thanksgiving to see that Jesus Christ has fulfilled them for us.
3. Find that we are to offer praise and thanksgiving to God in all circumstances, which is in times of peace and tranquility and in times of trial and persecution.
4. Review some reasons why God always deserves our love and thanksgiving.
With this introduction, let us now begin our study by reviewing,
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
To do this, let us begin by reading the following,
Psalm 50:23
"[23] He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me ...""
Notice that when we offer to God our sacrifice of praise, we honor Him and as some translations state: "We glorify God."
As we study the Scriptures further we find that when we humble ourselves, pray, that is bring to God our petitions and requests, and offer God praise and thanksgiving, He promises to give our hearts peace beyond all understanding. To see this, let us read the following excerpt from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi.
Philippians 4:4-7
"[4] Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [5] Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. [6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
4 … We are to rejoice in the Lord “always.”
6 … Even our prayers, petitions and requests are to be given with thanksgiving.
7 … When we do this, God promises that His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
A WORD OF CAUTION
As we reflect upon the above passage and contemplate the tremendous privilege and blessing contained within them, our tendency may be to immediately go forth and offer God our praise and thanksgiving. However, before we do we must be careful to insure we come before Him as He, God, prescribes. The significance of this can be seen by the Old Testament example of Nadab and Abihu.
By way of background, Nadab and Abihu were two of four sons of the high priest Aaron. As we read the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers we find that God, through Moses, selected Aaron and his four sons to be priests for the nation of Israel. We also find that God gave Aaron and his sons very specific instructions on how, in their priestly duties, they were to present their offerings unto Him. Specifically, (1) they were to only use the incense prescribed by God (Exodus 30:9) and (2) they were to use the fire from the altar (Leviticus 16:12). The reason they were to use the fire from the altar was because this was the fire God sent by which all sacrifices and offerings were to be given (Leviticus 9:23-24). However, Nadab and Abihu ignored God’s instructions and offered Him unauthorized fire. By not following God's commands they in effect revealed their lack of love and respect they had for Him (John 14:15). Consequently, they brought upon themselves God’s wrath. To see this, let us read from,
Leviticus 10:1-3
"[1] Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. [2] So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. [3] Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent."
Granted, we have just read an extreme case of God’s wrath. However, it does illustrate the necessity for us, when we approach God in prayer or to offer Him praise and thanksgiving, to consider who He is and how He desires us to come before Him.
To do this we will review the requirements of the Old Testament Mosaic Law for,
THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING
As we study the requirements for the sacrifice of the thanksgiving or fellowship offering we will find that our Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled these requirements for us. Thus, when we offer our praise and thanksgiving to God the Father through Jesus Christ (or in Jesus’ Name), we are assured we are in complete compliance with God’s commands and statutes. Hence, our offering is readily acceptable to God.
With this brief introduction let us now review the requirements for the thank offering. In the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament we find that if a person wanted to offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, three things were required. The offerer had to offer: (1) an unblemished, which means without defect, animal, (2) bread, wafers and cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil, and (3) bread made with yeast.
To see this, let us read how these requirements are described in the book of Leviticus. Since the thank offering was a special case of the fellowship or peace offering, we begin our exploration of the thank offering where the requirements for the fellowship or peace offering are presented in,
Leviticus 3:1-5
""[1] 'If someone's offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the LORD an animal without defect. [2] He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the altar on all sides. [3] From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the LORD by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, [4] both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. [5] Then Aaron's sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.""
Let us notice the following verses,
2a … By commanding the offerer to lay their hands upon the head of the sacrifice, our Lord was making it clear to the offerer that the animal he was about to slaughter was to be done on his behalf. In other words the animal was a substitute for him.
2b … After the offerer slaughtered the animal, the priests were to take its blood and sprinkle it on the sides of the altar. It is noted that only the ordained priests were allowed to perform this function.
3-4 … As we found in previous studies, the offering of the animal’s blood (which is its life) and fat (representing the best portion) by the priest on the altar was a foreshadowing that represented the physical life and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was pointing to the time when, on our behalf, Jesus would come and offer His body and blood to open the door so we can freely and confidently enter into the Most Holy Place, which is God's Throne Room. To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 10:19-22
"[19] Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
Let us notice the following verses,
19 … It is by the blood of Jesus Christ that we can enter into the Most Holy Place, which is God's Throne Room.
20 … Jesus opened the way for us through the offering of His body (see Hebrews 10:5).
21-22(a) … Since Jesus, Who loves us and gave Himself for us, is our High Priest; we can now draw near to God with full assurance that He will accept us and listen to us.
22(b) … In other words, our heart has been cleansed through the sanctification by the Holy Spirit and we have been washed through the waters of baptism into Jesus Christ.
Since this is a study of the thank offering, let us move on and read what else the law prescribed if the offerer intended their fellowship or peace offering to be one of thanksgiving. It is given to us in,
Leviticus 7:12-15
[12] "'If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil. [13] Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast. [14] He is to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the LORD; it belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings. [15] The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning."
Let us notice the following verses,
12 … In addition to the particular animal chosen for this sacrifice, the offerer was also to offer cakes of bread and wafers made without yeast or leaven. It is noted that this unleavened bread and wafer represents holiness or a state of being pure, that is not corrupted by yeast. It too was a foreshadowing or representation of the holiness and purity of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
Also note that these cakes of bread were to be mixed and spread with oil. In previous studies we saw that oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we find that all three persons of the Godhead are represented in this offering: (1) God the Father to whom the offering is given, (2) Jesus represented by the blood, fat and unleavened bread and (3) the Holy Spirit represented by the oil.
13 … Lastly, the offerer was also to offer cakes of bread made with yeast or leaven. This represented the person who was making the offering.
14-15 … Notice that this offering of thanksgiving involved all three parties; God who received the portion that was placed on the altar, the priest received his portion and likewise so did the offerer. In other words it was an intimate time together.
THE MESSAGE OF THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING
The significance of it all is twofold. First, as we saw earlier, through His death and resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Law for us. He did this so that the doors to the Father's Throne Room would be opened for all the born again believers, Jew and Gentile alike, no matter where we live, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Secondly, we must heed the example of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, and not inappropriately barge into the Holiest of Holies. In other words, we must always remember what Jesus told His disciples in,
John 14:6
"[6] Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Thus, as we found in our study of Prayer whenever we approach God the Father we must do so in Jesus' Name.
CLOSING
With the above two points in mind, let us close this portion of our study by reading the following excerpt from Jesus' sermon on the mountain.
Matthew 5:17-19
""[17] Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. [19] Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
RECAP
Before we proceed in our study, let us quickly review what we have covered thus far.
1. When we give God praise and thanksgiving we are in effect honoring Him and giving Him the glory He deserves.
2. When, with thanksgiving, we offer our petitions and concerns He promises to grant us peace and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
3. Through His death and resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic Law for us. He did this to open the doors of God’s Throne Room, which is the Holiest of Holies, for the born again believer. As a result, the true Christian now has free access to God at any time, in any place, no matter the circumstances, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Given this incredible privilege, we now find that,
WE ARE ALWAYS TO OFFER GOD OUR SACRIFICE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
To see this, consider the following instruction from,
Hebrews 13:15
"[15] Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name."
In reflecting upon this verse of Scripture, one comes to realize that the statement “continually” means we are to praise and be thankful to God in all circumstances. This implies we are to praise and thank Him in times of peace and tranquility and are to praise and thank Him in times of trials and persecutions. To remind us of this truth let us read from,
1 Thessalonians 5:18
[18] in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
With the above will of God in mind we begin with,
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING DURING TIMES OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY
It ought to be obvious that we should praise and thank God for His blessings in times of peace and tranquility. These are the times when all is well. These are times of good health, food to eat, clothing to wear, homes to live in, peace with our fellow man and in general visible answers to our prayers and requests. Unfortunately, it is in exactly these times when we must be careful to not take His Love and Mercy for granted and forget to give our God the praise and honor due Him.
To see this, let us read about the time when Jesus healed the ten lepers. It is given to us in,
Luke 17:11-19
"[11] Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. [12] As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance [13] and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" [14] When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. [15] One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. [16] He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. [17] Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? [18] Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" [19] Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well.""
Let us notice the following verses,
12-13 … There were 10 lepers who stood far off and cried to Jesus for mercy. In other words, they were asking Jesus to heal them.
14 … Instead of healing them right there Jesus told them to go to the priests. Was this a test to see if they would remember it was Jesus who healed them and come back to thank Him?
15-16 … It was only the Samaritan, a person who did not practice the Jewish faith, who returned to thank Jesus. To help put the significance of this in its proper perspective would be to equate the Samaritan to an unbeliever and the remaining nine lepers to those who claim to be Christians.
17-18 … Notice the disappointment in Jesus over the nine, who did not return to thank Him.
So what is the point? What is the message? Perhaps at the end of each day, before we go to sleep for the night, we should reflect upon all the blessings of that day and give our God praise and thanks for them. For example we should always be aware that it was God who provided for our needs and in addition to everything else our food, drink and shelter were His provisions. To illustrate this message, we find that even our Lord Jesus Christ thanked God the Father just before He fed the 5,000 men with only five barley loves and two fish.
John 6:8-11
"[8] Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, [9] "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" [10] Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish."
Let us now move on to,
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING DURING TIMES OF TRIAL AND PERSECUTION
These are the times when we are hurting and/or suffering. Perhaps we are being ridiculed and/or are being persecuted for our faith in Jesus Christ. It is during these times we may feel deserted by God or abandoned by Him. Consequently, these periods of adversity may be the most difficult for us to offer God our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. However, the Bible teaches us that God will never leave us or forsake us.
Hebrews 13:5-6
"[5] … God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." [6] So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?""
Thus, the Bible teaches us that we should praise and thank God for these times when we suffer for His Name's sake. To see this, let us read from,
Matthew 5:11-12
""[11] Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
To further illustrate this point let us look to the,
The Example of Paul and Silas
The incident to be considered is the time when Paul and Silas were arrested for delivering a slave girl from a spirit of divination. It is recorded in,
Acts 16:22-25
"[22] The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. [23] After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. [24] Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. [25] About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."
To capture the depth of the faith and devotion of Paul and Silas, let us consider their plight. Instead of the people thanking Paul and Silas for the miraculous deliverance God performed by their hands, they had them arrested. They are also stripped, beaten and, in a cold dark jail, are fastened in stocks. In other words, they were severely punished for doing the righteous and good work that our Lord had asked them to do. Instead of crying, moaning and questioning God as to why all this had happened to them, they prayed and sang hymns to God.
As one contemplates the above incident one is left with the question of, “Is this an unusual or extraordinary behavior for the disciple or follower of Jesus Christ?”
In exploring the answer to this question, we find that this behavior was not unusual. In fact, the apostles and disciples of the New Testament actually considered themselves privileged to suffer for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. To see this, let us read what the apostles said after they were beaten for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:40-42
"[40] ... They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. [41] The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. [42] Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."
Post Biblical Examples
Since we have only used Biblical examples, one might conclude that people who would rejoice, forgive their persecutors and consider it a privilege to suffer persecution, torture and possibly martyrdom for their faith in Jesus Christ is unique to the time of the New Testament. However, throughout the history of Christianity, this attitude of the apostles and disciples of the New Testament was and is characteristic for many of our Lord’s disciples. To see this one only has to read books such as, “Foxes Book of Martyr’s” by John Foxe or “By Their Blood, Christian Martyrs of the Twentieth Century” by James and Marti Hefley or “Faithful Unto Death” by Myron S. Augsburger.
To provide a flavor of what is contained within these books, let us read an example of a forgiving spirit and respectful attitude towards God during the time of unimaginable suffering and martyrdom. This example is an excerpt from what Gerrit Corneliss Boon said in 1571 just before he was strangled and burned at the stake.
“Gerrit was so crippled from the torture he had to be carried to the stake. Here he witnessed to the crowd in a strong voice, calling:
“O men, how long is eternity, how long is eternity? But this life here is soon over, yet the conflict here is bitter and strong. But how it still concerns me. O flesh, be patient and stand yet a little, for this is the last struggle.”
Then he fell on his broken knees and lifted his voice in prayer:
“O Father and Lord, be gracious unto me. Let me be one of the least of thy least lambs, or the least member of thy body.
O Lord, who lookiest down here from on high, and art a discerner of the hearts and of every hidden thing, before whom all things are to be counted as nothing, Thou knowest my simple love which is towards Thee.
Accept me, and forgive them that inflict this suffering upon me.”
The soldiers took Gerrit from his knees and placed him at the stake. When the rope was placed around his neck, he cried, “O heavenly Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Then he was strangled and his body burned.”(1)
The Teaching
In reflecting upon the above one might ask; “How? How can it be possible to have an attitude such as this?” We must first remember that as a true born again believer, we have the Holy Spirit living and dwelling within us.
Secondly, as a born again believer we are to mature and grow in our faith so that the fruits of the Holy Spirit flow from within us. His fruits, such as love and long suffering, are to become so strong in our lives that we too can experience the following description of the believer's love for God that we are to have in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:35-39
"[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [36] As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." [37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
As I reflect upon these things, I find myself very much lacking in this type of love. It is precisely during these times of conviction that I am reminded of the reason for my deficiency. Specifically, I have taken my eyes, mind and heart off God and the significance of the eternal life He purchased for me. I have forgotten that the goal of my faith is eternal life and this should be my prime focus. To help me understand this, I am usually reminded to consider the following Scripture which teaches us that if we only hope in Christ for the potential blessings while living upon this earth, then in effect we have missed the whole point of the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:19
"[19] If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
Since I suspect at times you also might fall into a similar plight, let us remind ourselves of,
SOME REASONS WHY GOD ALWAYS DESERVES OUR LOVE AND THANKSGIVING
As we saw earlier, we should always thank God and praise Him for all the prayers He answered. In addition to answered prayer, there is also a myriad of reasons to love and give thanks and praise to our God. However, for this study we will only review the following small sample of them:
1. Granting us a new birth.
2. Delivering us out of the darkness.
3. Saving others.
4. Allowing us to serve Him.
5. The privilege of sharing in His sufferings.
OUR NEW BIRTH
First and foremost we should thank and praise God for our new birth, our inheritance in His Kingdom and for saving us from the horror of hell. In fact, we can never, ever, stop thanking Him for this blessing. To remind us of all what He did and why we should give Him our praises and thanks, let us read from,
1 Peter 1:3-9
"[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. [8] Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, [9] for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
We should also praise and thank God for
OUR DELIVERANCE FROM DARKNESS
The Bible teaches us that not only did He deliver us out of darkness but He has chosen us and made us, the born again believer, into a royal priesthood! To see this, let us read from,
1 Peter 2:9-10
"[9] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
In addition to loving and thanking God for saving us and adopting us as His children, we should also remember to give Him thanks and praise for
SAVING OTHERS
As we read the New Testament we find this is exactly what Paul did. Specifically, he always thanked God for those who received saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As an example, let us read,
Colossians 1:3-6
"[3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- [5] the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel [6] that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.”
In addition to loving and thanking God for saving us and others, we should also love and thank Him for the times when He allows us
THE PRIVILEGE TO SERVE HIM
We find Paul was always grateful to God for the ministry that God gave him. As an example, let us read an excerpt of Paul's letter to Timothy where he thanks Jesus for appointing him to His service.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
"[12] I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. [13] Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. [14] The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [15] Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. [17] Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
As we saw earlier, we should also thank God for
THE PRIVILEGE OF PARTAKING IN CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS
This is the suffering of persecution for His Name's sake. To see this, let us read what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Peter to those who were, are and will be persecuted for being a born again believer.
1 Peter 4:12-16
"[12] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. [15] If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. [16] However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."
Let us notice the following verses,
13 … We should rejoice when we are persecuted and participate in the sufferings of Christ
14 … When we suffer for Christ, a reason for rejoicing is that when it occurs, we then know that the Spirit of glory and of God is resting upon us.
15-16 … If we suffer for committing a crime; there is nothing to rejoice about. However, if we suffer for the Name of Jesus Christ we should not be ashamed, but are to praise and thank God that we have been privileged to bear His Name!
SUMMARY
What is the message of this chapter? Perhaps it is best summed up in,
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"[16] Be joyful always; [17] pray continually; [18] give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
With the above instruction in mind, let us close this chapter by reading unto the Lord the following Psalm.
Psalm 145:1-21
“[1] I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. [2] Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. [3] Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. [4] One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. [5] They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [6] They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. [7] They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. [8] The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. [9] The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. [10] All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. [11] They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, [12] so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. [13] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. [14] The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. [15] The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. [16] You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. [17] The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. [18] The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. [19] He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. [20] The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. [21] My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever."
AMEN and AMEN