"The Trouble with Trials"
1 Peter 4:12-13
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. KJV
Introduction: Last week I mentioned that 2015 had been a difficult year for us in many ways. It was a difficult time medically for Mrs. Preacher and I as there have been several visits to the ER, hospitals stays and doctor's appointments and treatments. Can I get a witness! Many of you had similar experiences. It was a difficult year in ministry as we spent countless hours finishing up our new ministry center along with the normal grit and grind of everyday labor for the Lord. Several of you have dealt with the grief of the passing of a loved one or some other kind of deeply felt personal issue. The Apostle Peter was writing to some folks who were having some troubles and trials of their own in the form of persecution so much so that Peter is seeking to give them some support and encouragement to help sustain them during this time that they were going through these trials of suffering. Dr. Adrian Rogers said, "You're not going to make sense of suffering until you see it in the light of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Peter was talking to saints who were suffering. Now, sometimes, we get the idea that if we go down the aisle, and we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, and we get baptized, then, our troubles are over. Friend, listen: If you've never met the devil, it's because you and the devil have been going in the same direction. And, you turn around--you're going to meet him head-on. And, in many ways, your troubles are going to begin when you give your heart to Jesus Christ, because you're going to be a twice-born man in a world of once born men, and you're going to be going against the tide all the way. And, Jesus said they're going to hate you. And, listen. In Peter's day, many of the Christians were being persecuted. They were being lied about; they were being slandered; and they were being passed over for promotions; and their goods were being confiscated. And, all of these things happen."
I. The Common Trials -- Those We Meet
a. The Truth of the Scriptures
First, let me say that the Bible says that trials are natural and normal for all human beings. No one is excluded; all are subject to troubles and trials. This is true for those in the penthouse or the poorhouse. It is true of all of us. Both the young and the old experience trials, no one is immune.
Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
One translation of this first phrase goes like this, "Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people." ESV
b. The Trials of the Saints
It is a fact that many of God's choicest servants have experienced times of trials in their lives. Abraham was "the friend of God" yet he experienced numerous trials in his life. The Bible states that David "was a man after God's own heart," yet his life was filled with trials. Listen to what he writes in: Psalms 31:9 "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief..."
Think of the tens of thousands that have been martyred for their faith in Christ throughout the centuries. Think of those today who are being slaughtered by Isis and their only crime is that they believe in Jesus Christ. Think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was murdered by the Nazi's and Corrie Ten Boom's whose beloved sister Betsy died of starvation and disease in a Nazi prison camp. I could go on and on but the truth remains that trials are not to be considered "strange" for those who know the Lord. Again, the Bible states that:
2 Timothy 3:12 "...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution...
How many of you enjoy the hymn, "He Keeps Me Singing?" Would it surprise you that this great hymn was written in the midst of great trial?
ILL - A Methodist preacher by the name of Luther Bridges was born in 1884. He married and had 3 sons. Pastor Bridges accepted an invitation to minister at a conference in Kentucky in the year 1910, so he left his family in the care of his father-in-law & made the trip to Kentucky. There, 2 wonderful weeks of ministry resulted. The last service closed with great joy and he was excited to be called to the telephone. He couldn't wait to tell his wife about all the blessings. But it wasn't her voice on that long distance line. He listened in silence to the news that a fire had burned down the house of his father-in-law & his wife and all three of his sons had died in the blaze. That distraught man reached out to Jesus and wrote the words: "Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go."
(From a sermon by Joel Preston, Pressing into Jesus, 5/14/2012)
c. The Twisting of the Scriptures
I would be remiss if I did not speak to the issue of the twisting of the Scriptures that is occurring in the church world today. The granddaddy of all the Scripture twisters in this area appeared on the scene about 70 years ago. He started with tent revivals and eventually developed a worldwide television ministry and a major university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His name is one that most of the older folks will recognize, Oral Roberts. He spawned a theology that has become the standard for almost all so called "faith" ministries both at home and around the world. He has many disciples who "sell their snake oil" right here in the US. They have many things in common but there are two things that are associated with our subject today and that would be the idea that "if you are going thru a trial then you must have some sin in your life or your trials have come upon you because of a lack of faith."
Now if that sounds familiar it's because it is and we find it in the book of Job where Job's friends accuse this righteous man of wrong doing and faithlessness. One of Job's friends, Eliphaz the Temanite makes the charge that Job must be suffering because of some great sin.
Job 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
ILL --
II. The Corrective Trials -- Those We Make
Someone has said, "While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions." Sampson is a perfect example of this truth. Sampson made several decisions that ultimately led to his death. He could slay 1,000 men with nothing but the jawbone of a donkey but he could not slay his uncontrolled lust. God allows corrective trials in our lives as:
a. The result of disobeying the Scriptures
Some trials in life come to us because we just flat-out disobey God's Word. The Bible gives us some principles that are inviolate and if we ignore them or reject them we do so at our own peril.
Deuteronomy 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
b. The result of deceiving ourselves and other people
In the TV show about Mayberry, Jim Nabors character Gomer Pyle had a lot of wisdom to offer. Once when Gomer had been taken advantage of by someone he said, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." There are many trials that we make for ourselves because we are "fooling" ourselves.
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
c. The result of being just plain "dumb"
There are some things that people do, even those who are professing Christians that are just not smart!
Under the heading of you just can't make this stuff up, guess what the three most commonly used words are in the Southern United States just prior to an accident? They are, "Hey, watch this!" Do you ever watch the TV shows that display some very dumb (not smart) things that people do. We watch them and laugh and ooh and aah and sometimes we groan and we can't even watch because we know what's coming. How do you think God feels when He sees what we are doing and He knows what's coming?
III. The Constructive Trials -- Those That Make Us
Most of us learn far more from our trials than we do our triumphs. Not only that, God intentionally allows us to pass through trials to build us. He does this by providential arrangement and care. When God does allow a trial to come into our life it is always for blessing and not blasting. It is always to build us up, not to tear us down. There are times when God uses trials to:
a. God seeks to teach us
The Importance Of Perspective
When the Alaskan Pipeline was being built, there were many Texans who went to Alaska and found work on the pipeline. The Texans could only work a few hours in the frigid weather, yet the Eskimos, the native Alaskans, could work indefinitely in the cold.
They decided to do a study to find out why the Eskimos could withstand the weather. After much study they found that there were no physiological differences between the Eskimos and the Texans. There was nothing in skin thickness, blood, or any other thing physically that would explain the differences in the ability to withstand the temperatures. The solution came when they did a psychological study. The difference was the Eskimo said, "He knows it was cold but there was a job to be done." In other words, his focus was on the job and obtaining results rather than on the weather. The Texan focused on the weather and this kept him from focusing on the job at hand. (Taken from the Movie 5th Quarter).
You and I will focus on one of two things this week. We will either focus on how bad things are, the trials, and temptations or we will focus on Christ and His Word. Godly faith can help us to face and overcome the world we live. Whatever our troubles are: with family, loneliness, things that seem impossible, dealing with death, sin or whatever it is.
The Importance of Perseverance
Perseverance--James does not leave us in despair and defeat. He assures us that our trials or tests develop Christian perseverance. THE UPPER ROOM in the last few weeks has had a couple of fantastic devotionals on Perseverance. A Texas lady by the name of Lou Storm wrote the devotional for September 15, 2004. I could relate 110 per cent to her situation when she began by proclaiming: "Pastor Don's sermon Sunday emphasized a theme that spoke to me: 'Sometimes persevering means we just show up every day.'" We have all faced days like that, and we can be certain we will face many more before Jesus either calls us home or returns. There will be those days that perseverance for us means "just showing up."
There are times when God uses trials to:
b. God seeks to temper us
Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world will be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts his beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good he undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out
-- God knows what he's about.
by Angela Morgan as adapted by Paul Billheimer in "Don't Waste Your Sorrows"
There are times when God uses trials to:
c. God seeks to transform us
ILL - A little girl walking in a garden noticed a particularly beautiful flower. She admired its beauty and enjoyed its fragrance. "It's so pretty!" she exclaimed. As she gazed on it, her eyes followed the stem down to the soil in which it grew. "This flower is too pretty to be planted in such dirt!" she cried. So she pulled it up by its roots and ran to the water faucet to wash away the soil. It wasn't long until the flower wilted and died. When the gardener saw what the little girl had done, he exclaimed, "You have destroyed my finest plant!" "I'm sorry, but I didn't like it in that dirt," she said. The gardener replied, "I chose that spot and mixed the soil because I knew that only there could it grow to be a beautiful flower." Often we murmur because of the circumstances into which God has sovereignly placed us in. We fail to realize that He is using our pressures, trials, and difficulties to bring us to a new degree of spiritual beauty. Contentment comes when we accept what God is doing and thank Him for it.
Conclusion: I've sought to answer several questions this morning about the trials that you and I go through.
1. Are there trials that are common to all of us? Yes
2. Are there trials of our own making? Yes
3. Are there trials that God sends to build and ultimately bless us? Yes.
Are you passing through a trial this morning? Have you had a difficult time reconciling your trials with the idea of a loving God? Have your trials made you bitter and not better? Have your trials got you in a spiritual and emotional dark place? Let me remind you of what our text says:
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
CARROTS, EGGS OR COFFEE
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as though just as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did, and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.
However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
Which are you?" she asked her daughter.
"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit... but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
May we all be COFFEE!
