Christians are told to love and forgive one another, not try to tear each other down. Those are devices of Satan and church we cannot let him get a foothold in here. I am going to quote Chuck Colson who once told his congregation (and this should hold true for any pastor), “I’m not here to make you happy, I am here to make you holy.” That is why I am here. If I do not preach to you holiness through God’s Word in deed and word and truth then I would fail you as a preacher of the Gospel.
Turek said, “People are not on a relentless pursuit of the truth, open to following the evidence where it leads. They’re on a happiness quest, not a truth quest…because they think doing whatever they want will make them happy. So it’s a heart issue, not a head issue.” If you are seeking God in all things; in word and deed and truth then you will find happiness through the truth in Jesus Christ. Either you let God hold you in the furnace to refine you or you wrestle yourself free, wanting what you want and what you think you need and fall into that unquenchable fire to be burnt to a crisp. We all need God’s refining fire in our lives; let me ask, who has suffered more than our Savior? Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
In Matthew chapter 4 when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus quotes three texts from Deuteronomy, all of them commandments that Israel failed to obey but that Jesus is determined to and does obey fully. God knows everything that you have went through, everything that you are going through and everything that you will go through and He is sovereign in of all of it. James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.” Our problem is that instead of seeking to learn and grow spiritually in the midst of the trial, we try to bypass or find a way around Christ the Refiner standing before us. We fail to grasp what it says in Romans 5:3-5: “…but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Like the Hebrews in Exodus who would not submit to the will of God, they kept wandering in the wilderness over and over again. Even when we think that we have found a way around the Refiner’s fire, after wasting so much time in our life wandering, the Refiner is still there before us, waiting. The fire that we have been running from is still waiting to purify us. Do you want to keep going through the same agonizing tests and tribulations again and again and again or will you seek God’s grace and mercy to bring you through them? Will you let Christ carry you through the fire or would you prefer to walk in it alone? 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Only God can take us through. We do not have to understand the why or realize the outcome. We have to understand and fully trust that God knows what He is doing and only His Holy Spirit can guide us.
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” We have to ask God for help in prayer. James 4:10: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” That is how He will answer us. This is done so that we will be inclined to give God the credit and thanks that He deserves for our coming out of a trial. Listen, If we did not do it in this way we would not give credit where credit is due because that is the nature of our flesh. Human beings have horrible short term memories when it comes to God helping them in tough situations. “Oh God I promise if you get me out of this and Oh God if you get me out that.” Then He does help us and we suddenly forget our promises to Him. Trust, humility, patience and constancy in prayer have to be in the beginning, during, and after the storm. Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. We only survive, strengthen and thrive because the Holy Spirit gets us through. Jesus carries us through.
Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” How many mornings have you rolled out of bed and the first thing you do is start to worry about issues or ailments that just will not go away? You have fallen into a snare of the enemy before you even took your first step. Why not make the first thought in your mind a verse like 2 Corinthians 12:9: “… “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
The world and its enticements and pitfalls will come at you constantly. The Holy Spirit will give wisdom to avoid temptation and God will fill in where we fall short. When others come against us and we are speechless, God will give us the words in time of need. Luke 21:15: “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” God’s refinement with Holy Fire will enhance us as Christians when we are in obedience to His perfect will in our lives. God’s perfect will is when we are following Him steadfastly, heeding the Lord in the call for our lives. We are doing what God tells us to do. Not what we want to do. Do not be caught up in the permissive will. God’s permissive will is where He leaves us to our own devices, our own selfish lusts, desires and pride.
This is where we cause destruction, the loss of eternal rewards, and bring unneeded afflictions upon ourselves. This only causes us the need to stay in the cleansing, decontaminating fire that much longer. So do we persevere or do we throw our hands up and feel sorry for ourselves blaming others and not seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy? Job 1:21: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." It is not about you. It is never about you. It is and always has been (long before you and long after you) about God alone. Job 2:9-10 after Job lost everything and then was attacked physically, “…his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But Job said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job’s wife ridiculed him. His friends gave him wrong advice and blame. Job resented even being born and in his self-pity he questioned God and then God in turn questioned Job.
Job 38:1-7: (When the Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job) “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Let me ask you something here. We all question God at times and He loves us enough to allow it, but who are we to question God? After God pulled Job out of the fire he was polished and blessed much more than before he went into the tremendous trials that he suffered. The life of Job is proof that man usually has no idea what God is doing behind the scenes in the life of each believer.
Job was such a man; he knew that God was on His Throne and in total control, though he had no way of knowing why so many terrible tragedies were occurring in his life. Job never lost his faith in God, even under the most distressing circumstances that tested him to his core. It’s hard to imagine losing everything in one day—property, possessions, and even children. Most would sink into depression and even become suicidal after such a nightmare; however, Job never wavered in his understanding that God was still sovereign. Job knew God well enough to know that He did not work that way; in fact, he had such an intimate, personal relationship with Him that he was able to make the statement, Job 13:15: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”
So the grand question. Why does God allow people to suffer and go through bad things? I would ask; why would or should He save us from them? Romans 5:8: declares, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Despite the evil, wicked, sinful nature of the people of this world, God still loves us. He loved us enough to die on the cross to take the penalty for our sins. All human beings need the saving grace of Christ. We have to go through times of suffering and trial to see that we need God over ourselves.
Why? Because no matter how highly you think of yourself; Ecclesiastes 7:20: “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” Only Jesus Christ was sinless and thus a perfect sacrifice on our behalf. If we believe and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we will be forgiven. Nothing else you do can get you to heaven, nothing. What we deserve is hell. What we are given is eternal life in heaven if we come to Christ in faith alone. God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
Why should human beings (who are not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent) expect to be able to fully understand God’s ways? Remember Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Listen, when you search for diamonds you have to dig through the dirt and the mud and the dust to find the treasure. The Holy Spirit has to remove the mud and the muck and dust from us so that the treasure within can be seen. Make sense?
I think it is wiser that instead of questioning God, we are to focus on the example of our Savior Jesus and ask that God’s will be done and not ours in our own lives. If God is calling and sanctioning you to do something for Him, you can and should expect to be tested. You can expect testing proportionate with the seriousness of your call. The devil may not show up in person or test you on the same supernatural level that he tested Jesus, but your hardships may seem unbearable apart from the grace of God. That is because they are! Comfort, strength and resilience only come from God. Trials are for our benefit even though we at times despise them.
Ravi Zacharias stated beautifully, “Only if you are willing to pray sincerely for God's will to be done and are willing to live the life apportioned to you will you see the breathtaking view of God that He wants you to have, through the windows He has placed in your life. You cannot always live on the mountaintop, but when you walk through the valley, the memory of the view from the mountain will sustain you and give you the strength to carry you through.” 1 Peter 5:10: “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” We have the power of the Holy Spirit to comfort and reinforce us in our times of tribulation. God will help us through any anxiety, stress, disease, loss, etc…if we obey His will for us. Psalm 34:19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and God gave Him the strength to withstand. As He will us as well that love Him.
Psalm 34:17-18: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Every trial has a purpose. Every trial has significance. Every minute of tribulation that you endure with the strength of Christ builds eternal rewards of glory that will be cast to the feet of Jesus for saving us. So where are you? Are you being broken on the cornerstone which is Christ to be strengthened for God’s call for you or are you going to be crushed by it when you stand in judgement because you only cared for yourself? How deep are your roots in Christ? How much of God’s Word are you being fed and how often? Do you make Christ stand and watch as you perish in your own strength or do you cry out as your head is sinking beneath the waves saying, “Lord save me!”? Test your faith in Him; test yourself to see where you stand in Christ. Repent and ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. It is frightening how many people (even some in this church) that do not even realize that they are lost.
1 Peter 4:12-13: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Now ask yourself, truly how big is your small trial in the full scope of eternity? How horrible is your tribulation? How tough is your circumstance? Are you letting God cultivate you by obeying His will and trusting in what He has waiting for you? Do you trust Him to walk you through and reach out to take the hand of Jesus Christ that is extended to bring you out? Or maybe your trials in life are self-induced and inflicted? Are you not sick of the defiance, the guilt, or the ways of trying to justifying your sins? Are you not sick of caring only about your selfish wants and needs? Face up to it and realize that the picture window that is your exterior has had a brick called the gospel thrown right through it revealing the filthy interior and the shredded pieces of what you are supposed to be for Christ! Why is it harder to hate this world than to love the One who created us?
Why!? Because our flesh, the world and Satan does all that it can to pull us away from God. I know some things that God’s Word says stings and hurts – that is because it is supposed to. God’s Word will knock any rider off of their high-horse! God wants none to perish and neither do I, so what do I have to fear but God and if I fear God then I have no reason to hold back my presentation of the gospel to you.
James 1:2-8 : “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Any doubt equates to that much lack of faith. Faith is belief without doubt. Faith is a secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. If you died right now would you go to heaven? You should say, “Yes!” with all the fullness of your being with no doubt whatsoever. But if you have doubts, seek God, seek His Word, and seek His Son Jesus Christ! Stand firm in faith.
1 Peter 1:6-9: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
When gold is refined it is melted down by fire so that all of the impurities are removed. God does the same with us, removing our impurities so that at the end of the process we are polished pure and beautiful for the purpose of God’s great glory. When I look back into the rear view mirror of my life and see what God has brought me through I am so much more thankful for what He has done for me. Even if I feel that I do not deserve, that I do not deserve Him; He says I do deserve because of Him – that is why He came and died for me. That love that He showed someone like me, I can now confidently say, Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We all have our ups and downs, but I have found that when you do not worry and let God have full control over the situation, the problem is rectified through the providence of God. Jesus proclaims that He is the only way to the Father, the only way to Heaven, the only truth, the only way to peace in your life, and the only way to climb out of any struggle you are caught up in.
Is it not reassuring to know that you have a Creator, Mentor, Father, Comforter and Best Friend that will walk with you each step of your life? Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I find many times that when I start to doubt, that is when things start to get worse in my life. God does allow us to struggle at times because it turns our focus towards Him. We should always focus on God, but as human beings and the billions of distractions that are thrown at us every day, it can be very difficult. I just know that any and every time I start to lose sight of Christ and His glory, he puts me in my place and lets me endure a hardship that makes me turn and run back to Him.
Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” If you are struggling, hurting, or needing guidance – PRAY; Talk to God. He already knows what you need; He is just waiting for you to ask for it. Listen; just remember that He will do things in His time, according to His will and not ours. Our biggest problems as Christians is our lack of waiting for God’s timing which is always precise and correct. Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
All things are done for the glory of God by true believers. Non-believers do not bear this kind of fruit. Take heart, have comfort and joy when you are being refined in the midst of a trial or an ordeal. No matter how hard it is, stay faithful. It means that you are a child of God and truly loved by Him. John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” So when you cry out to God in earnest prayer asking, “God what do I do. Lord why am I going through this, please answer me Lord.” When God answers and tells you to trust Him, or even in divine silence be content with that and serve Him to the best of your ability. He will give you the answer at His appointed time and it will all make sense to you then. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Story: “A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the old farmer asked for his qualifications, he replied with an air of confidence “I can sleep when the wind blows.” The statement puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man nevertheless and hired him. A few days later, the old farmer and his wife were rudely awakened in the night by a violent storm.
They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farm tools had been placed neatly in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. The young man slept soundly. All was well. The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “I can sleep when the wind blows “. Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke loose. So when the wind blew, he was fearless. He slept in peace. In time, it isn’t the things you do, but the things you leave undone, which give you heartache at the setting of the sun.”
Many of you know the story in Daniel 3 when the 3 young Jews Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar and his false gods; the king had them thrown into the fiery furnace. They were not harmed and when the king looked in he saw the fourth who sustained and protected the three while in the furnace.
“Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”
Application: Remember that every moment and event in your life is meaningful, even if it seems insignificant. If we did not have trials and tribulations then we would learn nothing. It is all working for glory in eternity. Our mission is obedience to God’s will, both in our destiny and in the most miniscule details. God's does not always give us the answers to all of the questions that come in this life, but in the end He always delivers his own. In Heaven, all of these events in your life will be answered fully. Have faith in Christ with every breath and every sorrow, with every tear and every shout of joy. Have faith in all things because all things are from God and return to Him for His glory. We must keep Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior first in our lives. Then He will show us the way out of any struggle that we encounter no matter the severity of that trial.
He is the only Way…hear the promise of our Lord in Revelation 3:21: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Stephanie posted this the other day. “All the issues, all the struggles, all the trials set before us in this new chapter, God will work those out. Looking back at all the pain, all the hardships, all the tribulations we faced, how beautiful they all are to me now! How blessed we are for being allowed to walk through and not be delivered from, because the work He has done in us and the lessons He has taught us could not have been done or learned any other way. Those hardships and trials were truly GIFTS in disguise! God IS good, and I can't thank Him enough for allowing us to walk through the muck and the pits of this life because He is going to, and has been glorifying Himself through our vessels and ALL the glory belongs and is due HIM!” Keep your eyes on Jesus while in the Refiner’s fire and you will shine like the purest gold and stand firm in love because your reward is coming soon. Be a true Christian. You can only do that if you are allowing God to mold you into the image of His Son Jesus our Lord.
