Joy in Trials

INTRO VIDEO - GEN Z COURTROOM

Hey NLCC and South Langley Youth, welcome to Fall Retreat! Our team are so excited to have you for this weekend and we are trusting that you will leave here different people because of the work that God is going to do in your lives. We have spent a lot of time praying and preparing for this weekend and we are going to continue to pray that your hearts will be open to all the work that God wants to do.

By the end of this weekend, we want to know that it is possible to have joy, even in the toughest moments. Tonight we’re looking at what are trials? Where is God in trials? And how can we possibly have joy in the most painful moments in our lives?

After that we are going to look at trials and how they help us be stronger. And how in this journey of navigating trials we can become mature followers of Jesus. Finally, on Sunday we are going to see how this all comes together to the ultimate goal of joy and perseverence - being spiritually whole and deeply intimate with Jesus.

Who here has experienced pain? I’m not speaking about when you kick your toe in the morning and very politely say, “ow”. I’m not speaking about when someone calls me a boomer. I’m talking about pain, that when it happens, you feel as thought you will never be the same person again as a result of it. You feel completely helpless and hopeless. Pain that has lead to a fear of the future - “I am too scared to think about tomorrow”. Because I talk to a lot of you, I know that there are many here who have experienced this kind of pain, and even deeper pain than this. I also know that for those of you who haven’t experienced this, you probably know someone who has, AND at some stage in your life, you will have to face it.

Another thing we can call these painful times in our lives is “trials”.

My goal this evening is to give a foundation for what’s to come this weekend.

Let’s start out by figuring out what James means here when he uses the word “trials”.

Trials

Let’s do a quick dig into this word: In the original, this word is - peirasmos - and can mean TEMPTATION, TEST, or TRIAL. It can be used in a positive sense - like Ben is going to look at tomorrow morning, where it is a necessary testing that strengthens our character - like refining metal by fire.

It is used as temptations and distractoins that weaken a person or leads them away from Jesus. It scripture, the word is often used as something that challenges one’s faith, or leads to them abandoning God. In the Lord’s Prayer - lead us not into peirasmos...

Interestingly, in James 1:13-15 - this same word - peirasmos - is used almost exclusively as TEMPTATION. This doesn’t rule out the other words, but it does mean that we probably need to take a deeper look at temptation especially, this evening.

As we continue digging, the other thing I want you to see is this idea of a court trial (kinda like the video we watched at the beginning). In a trial, you have the defendant, the accusor, the lawyer defending you, and the judge. The accusor (Satan), will bring a bunch of accusations against you, and you have to say whether they are true or not. Your lawyer on your side also asks questions, but specifically to lead you to a place of proving your innocence. Finally after all the evidence is laid out, the judge (and jury) makes the final call. This is an interesting thought, because all 3 words we mentioned above are prevelent in a court case - TEMPTATION, TEST and TRIAL.

The things that happen in our lives are the trial or the test or the temptation, and Satan is fighting to try accuse us, and Jesus is defending us.

A couple quick points that are important before we move on:

Let’s quickly read James 1:12-15:

James 1:12–15 ESV

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. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

TEMPTATION - the desire to have or do something that you know you should avoid

Some things to note from this passage (which is a continuation of James’ thoughts on trial):

1. God can never tempt!

James 1:13 - “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

2. Satan tempts, but is not always the one to blame.

James 1:14 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”

3. Temptation itself is not sin - but can lead to sin.

James 1:15 “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

So with all things things in mind, we get a much better picture of TEMPTATION and how it works.

Now, as we said above, trials is not only temptation, but testing. Let’s think of it in this way, if temptation is something that has the potential to lead us away from Jesus, testing has the potential to lead us to Him. Therefore, if we are being tested by God,

God knows what He is doing and is working towards a good outcome (pereverence, joy, hope) - Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

God knows us intimiately and knows what we can we can bear WITH HIS HELP. 2 Cor 12:9-10 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - He tends to push us just past what we can handle, so that we are stretched, but not crushed. Think Peter on the boat - immediately reached out...

Let’s move on to Satan:

How does Satan work?

1. Scripture calls Satan the Father of Lies

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” - EVE IN GARDEN

2. Disguised as an Angel of Light

the best lie is 99% truth

2 Corinthians 11:13–15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

3. The accuser

Revelation 12:10b “...the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

4. Satan plucks God’s word out of peoples hearts and chokes our faith

Mark 4:1–9 “Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””

1 Thessalonians 3:5 “For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.”

5. Ultimately - Wants to make God angry -

Important to recognise how Satan works, so that we can recognise his traits when we are faced with them.

Two thoughts - starts with the big thing, one step back, one step back, until he finds a hole in your defences he can sneak through

Foothold

How does this world work? Circumstances...

Human Free Will - we’re not going to go into a long dialog about this, but basically, every one of us has the option to make decisions - ones that positively or negatively affect people.

Drunk driver

Abuse

Death & Sickness

Economy = poverty

Colonization

A Dying World

Natural Disasters

Satan is relentless

Ephesians 6:16 “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”

Satan’s goal is to anger God

How does God work?

Never tempts - James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

Sovereignty - God allows “trials” to happen - omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence

Omnipresent - Psalm 139:7-12: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (ESV)

Omnipotent - Jeremiah 32:17 “‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

Omniscient - Psalm 33:13–15 “The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.”

He IS Love - not a feeling or and action, but His very being - 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Justice - Deuteronomy 32:4 ““The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Free Will - Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

Matthew 22:37 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Patient - Exodus 34:6 “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

If we understand all these things together - his sovereignty (omni…), the fact that He IS love, His justice, our free will and His patience, we can begin to see the ways that He works through trials in our lives.

To humble us

To teach and correct us

To protect us (don’t know what He has done that we haven’t seen and don’t know)

Make it to the end

Discerning the Origin of the Trial -

Holy Spirit

Does it point you to Jesus? Strengthen your faith?

Does it make you want to turn away? Weaken your faith? Accuse you?

Orientation is so important in ANY trial - which way will you turn - you have a choice

Suffering for doing good - 1 Peter 3:17 “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Psalm 119:75 “I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

Sometimes delivering from the trial will lead us closer to Jesus, sometimes remaining steadfast within the trial will lead us closer to Jesus - that will always be His goal.

So how joy?

The goal this weekend is that we will discover how we can have joy through every trial - every temptation - in our lives. It may seem impossible, but it isn’t.

Here is a sneak peak at what is to come:

We can have joy because our trials help us see what is most valuable

We can have joy because, in times of trial, our ability to stay strong, to persevere grows.

We can have joy in trails, because in them, we can see God at work, and we can see the people around us that He has blessed us with.

We can have joy because, in times of trial, as we persevere, we grow stronger

We can have joy because, in times of trail, as we persevere, we become mature

We can have joy because trials cause us to be content, no matter what is to come in this life!

But to close out today, we now know what trial is - that every single one of us faces them - some are bigger than others and some cause immense pain. The truth I want you all to know as we close is this - no matter the trial, no matter where it comes from (whether Satan orchestrated it or not), we must always have the same response. We will talk more about it this weekend. But our response need to be to TURN to JESUS - the author and finisher of our faith. Turn to Jesus. Turn to Jesus...

God is with us - 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.”

God has given us each other - 1 Thessalonians 3:2–3 “and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.”

Isaiah 45:7 “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

1 Peter 5:10 “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

Jesus’ suffering was necessary to create the Gospel, our suffering is necessary for the world to see the Gospel

HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A THOUGHT?

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

In every trial, we resist Satan, pray against it, and try to overcome it AND accept the trial, surrender to God’s will in the trial, and rejoice through it - BECUASE YOU KNOW when you do this, it WILL produce something good:

perseverence/steadfastness, maturity, lacking nothing, JOY!

Ephesians 6:10–13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Romans 13:12 “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

One difference involves sovereignty.  Every trial is brought to us by Satan.  But Satan can only do this by God’s permission.   Which means every trial is ultimately under God’s wise, loving, and sovereign control.

The other difference involves purpose.  Satan’s purpose for every trial is to weaken our faith and take us farther from God.  But God’s purpose for every trial is to strengthen our faith and draw us nearer to Him.

What This Means For Us

This morning I’m facing a trial that’s small.  But some of you are facing trials that are huge — the loss of a loved one, years of unemployment, chronic pain, or worse.  So how should we respond to trials?

Don’t wonder if they are from Satan or God.  They are from Satan’s hand by God’s wise, loving, and sovereign permission.Understand that Satan’s purpose for this trial is to weaken your faith and take you farther from God.Resist Satan’s purpose by coming to Christ as you are, trusting Him to be all you need.  Ask Him to strengthen and comfort you through His Word.  Pray over His promises until you feel the Holy Spirit changing your heart.Understand that God’s purpose for this trial is to strengthen your faith and draw you nearer to God.  Sometimes He does this by delivering you from the trial, since this can show you more of who He is.  So humbly and earnestly ask for this.Realize that sometimes God chooses to have the trial stay, as a way of giving you even more of Himself.  So pray over God’s promises until the Holy Spirit strengthens your faith and you experience Christ as your all-satisfying Treasure.

Romans 8:16–17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”