Trials And Persecutions

Why Do We Face Trials

I. We must all face trials and persecutions in our walk with God.

A. Our trials are fiery trials

 I Peter tells us that as believers there WILL be times that we will face problems, persecution, and trials of our faith!!

 He compares our trials to the refiner heating gold in a furnace. Just as gold has to go through the fire so does our faith.

 These trials are fiery trials.

 Sometimes we can see what God is doing with us and we can tell what the end result will be.

 But most of the time we don’t see what God has planned for us; all we see is the trial that is ahead of us.

 But don’t worry because God is in full control of the situation.

B. The Foreknowledge of God

 Foreknowledge- God knows ahead of time what we need to go through in order to become the vessel He wants us to be.

II Ti. 2:19-21

 He then sets into motion the circumstances that will allow Satan to put your faith to the test. We saw this occur in the book of Job.

 Is this because God is just some big old bully trying to cause us to fail or waiting for that to happen?

 God forbid – it’s just the opposite He does it because He loves us; because He wants us to cling to Him. So that we can see real strength comes from trusting Him.

C. The blind man wondering:

 When we can’t see it’s like a blind man being led through the darkness by a loved one.

 The blind man has no idea where he is or where he is going so what does he do?

 He clings all the more unto that loved one – he puts his entire trust in the fact that person leading him loves him enough to get him safely to his destination…

 He gives complete control to the guide. Jesus is the same way He wants us to give Him complete control of our lives.

D. We too are blind to the ways and plans of Jesus.

We also have no idea where Jesus is leading us during this trial.

So the only thing we can do is hold onto the unchanging hand of our glorious Lord and Savior.

Hold on and trust in God’s love for us and the mercy He has shown us through out our walk with Him.

II. Our trials

A. Right now you may be going through a trial of faith of your own.

Some of us may be facing financial problems and no matter how much you work to fix it you can’t..

Maybe it’s a family problem; maybe a member is in trouble and no matter how hard you try and hope there just doesn’t seem to be a way for it to be fixed…

Maybe it’s a healing you’re waiting on or maybe even a crisis of faith.

It seems no matter how much you pray or read your Bible nothing seems to change.

Maybe you feel like your prayers aren’t getting through.

If you’re one of these people I described I got 2 words for you---HOLD ON –HOLD ON!!!

Trust in the Lord and in His enormous; and amazing love for you.

Just like Paul said when facing an incurable disease–

II Co. 12:9

And he said unto me, MY GRACE is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

III. God is our refiner. We shall all be as gold.

A. Remember earlier I told you that God had your situation planned out before you ever faced it.

• Just as sure as He planned it – He will help you get through and

• He will be there to pick you up and place you on a higher level of faith that you could never imagine.

B. Only the purest Gold will enter in!!!

 Remember that gold the refiner placed in the furnace?

 Funny thing about gold- no matter how hot the fire or how many times it’s put through the furnace it is still gold.

 The chemical make up of Gold never changes; it’s gold going in the furnace- and it’s gold coming out.

 So the question we might ask is if it’s the same going in and the same coming out-- what’s the point of putting in the fire to start with?

 Ah but I didn’t say it was the same. I said it was still gold.

 The difference lies in the purity of the gold. The difference between 10K and 24K gold is in the heating.