Better understanding trials

Thank you for having Beth and I again here to Keystone. I checked the calendar and it was early last August that I spoke here last. It feels like years especially because of all that has happened with the virus and shutdowns.

We are humbled and honored that we can come to you in the middle of these times and share God’s Word.

Lets pray.

"As a long-time prisoner in bestial concentration camps [Viktor Frankel] found himself stripped to naked existence. His father, mother, brother, and his wife died in camps or were sent to gas ovens, so that, excepting for his sister, his entire family perished in these camps.

How could he - every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination - how could he find life worth preserving?"

In one of his darkest moments while digging in a cold icy trench, he writes:

"In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend that hopeless, meaningless world, and from somewhere I heard a victorious 'Yes' in answer to my question of the existence of an ultimate purpose.

At that moment a light was lit in a distant farmhouse, which stood on the horizon as if painted there, in the midst of the miserable grey of a dawning morning in Bavaria. 'Et lux in tenebris lucent'--and the light shineth in the darkness."

**** SLIDE 1

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

I was planning on teaching on verses 2-4 today but as I got into the study and lesson prep I found so many important things to talk about on just verse 2 that it became my focus for today.

**** SLIDE 2

Count it

1. There is nothing that happens to a Christian that will not work out for their good.

**** SLIDE 3

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.

When we face trials our natural tendency is not to be joyful. It is to become upset, angry, and even bitter. I have recently went through all of these emotions as our 29 year old daughter who continues to remain in an unwed relationship stopped us from seeing our granddaughter.

Over a year ago our granddaughter received Jesus and was baptized. Since that time we have been ministering to her regularly. Her father told us that we could start calling her at night and doing devotions with her. Over the past year our granddaughter was growing in her knowledge and relationship with the Lord. Then suddenly our daughter decided to put an end to it. She admittedly had become jealous of the relationship we had developed with her daughter. For over 2 months our granddaughter has not been able to come to church or do devotions with grandma or grandpa. I confess that it has been hard for me to find joy in this time.

Sometimes finding joy can be a difficult thing to do. When evil is being done it is normal to grieve. God grieves in his heart when people continue to do evil. However when we allow our grieving to turn into bitterness toward a person or we grumble and complain at God we have taken matters into our own hands.

There is nothing that happens in the life of a Christian that will not work out for their good. And speaking as a husband and father, I often want to fix things and protect, particularly things that have to do with my family.

Quite often in our attempts to quickly fix things we turn to our own strength rather than trusting God’s strength. Sometimes to escape the pain we only bring on more pain because we fail to learn the lesson of the trial. God has plans for us and for others to be changed for the good by the trial.

Because our granddaughter being kept from us and her church one of my thoughts was that we needed to contact a lawyer and file for grandparents rights. However, God kept at my heart telling me to slow down, to not be so quick to try and fix it on my own strength.

James tells to to take time and intentionally count the trial as joy. The Greek word for count is a term used in finance, as if to count money. The word could also be translated consider or evaluate. We are to take a step back when we are faced with difficulty and evaluate the trial in the light of God’s eyes. We should evaluate our trials in the light of what God is doing.

James tells us to take time to count the trial and evaluate it, to consider it because there is nothing that happens to a Christian that will not work out for their good.

**** SLIDE 4

All joy - James says to count it all joy.

**** SLIDE 5

2. Our joy is to come from a relationship with God through Christ Jesus.

This word for joy means gladness. It represents both our attitude as well as an emotion.

It is important to note that James is not saying to be joyful that we have trials. He is not telling us to be joyful for hard times to be upon us. Sometimes Christians can think that the Scripture is telling us to learn to enjoy pain and abuse, like man up. But it is quite the opposite, James is telling that in the middle of the darkness that surrounds us we should humble ourselves before God and be joyful that He is our God and we are His people.

The joy James is speaking of is the fruit of a right relationship with God. It is not something we can create by our own efforts. It is the joy that comes through walking with Jesus Christ, this is the joy of our salvation.

The Scriptures distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word “hedonism”. This is the philosophy of self-centered pleasure seeking.

**** SLIDE 6

Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2 Tim 3:4

Paul warns us about men that would teach what some often refer to as the prosperity gospel today. Teachers that make God out to be Santa Clause and make faith out to be a mechanism to obtain our deepest desires. Indeed we hear from our televisions preachers that proclaim if we have enough faith God will give us that new car or that new house. Or teachers that promote lifestyles of sin, calling evil good. Teachers that promote faith is a path to obtaining whatever you desire, that material wealth is God’s blessing. That is the very antithesis of what the Scriptures teach us.

**** SLIDE 7

Col 3:1-3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The power unto salvation is through the message about Jesus Christ. It is through trusting His work unto salvation, not our own.

When trials come it can be easy for true believers to fall into fleshly coping mechanisms and be lured by these false teachings. I can tell you that in this recent trial I have found myself becoming preoccupied with things to help me ignore what was happening. It is so common for us to preoccupy ourselves with work, with media, or even other relationships to forget the trial we are in and ignore the pain.

As I worshiped and prayed to God in the middle of this trial with our daughter, I found God continuing to quietly tell me to be patient. I can not tell you how much that bothered me. I became frustrated with the circumstances and I became frustrated with God.

When trials come our joy is not to be found in eating more chocolate, building a bigger farm or playing video games. Our joy is to come from a relationship with God through Christ Jesus. Joy in the Christian’s life is in direct proportion to our walk with the Lord. We can have true joy and rejoice because we are in the Lord. Because we are his children.

**** SLIDE 8

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

**** SLIDE 9

When we live with Joy in the Lord it enables us to enjoy the good things that God has given. It allows us to rejoice in marriage Prov 5:18 ,

**** SLIDE 10

to rejoice in good food 1 Tim 4:3 ,

**** SLIDE 11

in godly celebrations Deut 16:14 ,

**** SLIDE 12

and in fellowship of believers Phil 4:1

Beth and I spent a weekend at One Fest this year. Now to be honest my attitude of joy was not the best at that point. I was not really in the mood to worship all weekend. I knew that God was telling me to wait for the right moment to love on my daughter and her boyfriend and I did not like that. I wanted my daughter to obey God, I wanted our granddaughter to be going to church and I wanted it now. I allowed my bitterness over the situation to hinder MY relationship with God. Yet my love for the Lord could not stop me from praising Him even though I did not like what he was telling me. By the end of the One Fest worship God had gotten through my thick skin and I was ready to start listening.

I was reminded during worship that weekend that Jesus is coming.

**** SLIDE 13

Most importantly a believers joy comes because their hope is not in this world but in the coming kingdom.

1 Peter 1:3-7 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuiness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Notice that in this Scripture Peter says that those who have been born again have a greater hope, a greater salvation, that has yet to be revealed. It is in this that we rejoice, even though now we have been grieved by various trials.

It helped me to see that Peter talks about us being grieved by trials. Again it is not wrong to grieve wrongdoing. The more we grow to love God the more we will hate what he hates. However we have a greater hope than trying to bring justice to this broken world, a greater salvation in than anything offered through the law. In the middle of our pain, in the middle of suffering, in the middle of the darkness, we can proclaim the God of eternal salvation.

We find true rejoicing in the middle of dire times because, our joy comes from a relationship with God through Christ Jesus. We know that Jesus Christ is coming back and is going to set things right. We can confidently walk in truth and in love assured that he is going to bring justice upon the wicked and peace to those who believe on him.

**** SLIDE 14

When you meet trials

**** SLIDE 15

3. We should expect trials as we minister the gospel.

Notice that James says “when you meet trial” not “if you meet trials”

The Christian that expects his life to be free from trials is in for a shock.

When I am ministering the gospel to unbelievers I find that one of their objections is that they don’t want to be a Christian because things will become more difficult in life and they already have it difficult.

My response is that in this life there will always be trials. When we follow Jesus our life may be more difficult or it may be less difficult.

**** SLIDE 16

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

You see when you come to Jesus you trade the difficulty of sin in for the difficulty of living.

Let me say that again. When you come to Jesus you trade the difficulty of living a sinful lifestyle in for the difficulty of living out eternal life in a dying world.

**** SLIDE 17

Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death.

When we come to Jesus the weight of our sin is taken away. Until we know Jesus we continue to live under the wrath of God and in cycles of death, shame and guild all leading to eternal death.

**** SLIDE 18

Romans 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus brings eternal life to our souls. And now the weight of our sin is removed with divine justice at the cross through the blood of Jesus Christ to all who believe. But now we have the issue of living out eternal life in a body and a world that is perishing.

Quite often we find ourselves as Christians isolating and trying to protect ourselves from the pain of the world through man made laws. I grew up with friends that had a boyscout type mindset. We always were thinking of surviving in the wilderness and prepping for emergency. So I have a tendency to “always be prepared for an emergency”. But if Jesus told us about preparing, it was to NOT to store up treasures on earth, to NOT put our hope in being prepared for any earthly event...

NO! He told us to be prepared for His coming.

God does not call us to be his protected people, he calls us to be the messengers of his gospel.

We are to live holy lives set apart from sin as we minister the gospel to a broken world. We are to be in the world but not of the world.

We should expect trials as we minister. The Christian lives in a spiritual battlefield. Satan is against us and the systems of the world hate us.

**** SLIDE 19

Jesus warned his disciples in

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.

**** SLIDE 20

The apostles warned the church

Acts 14:22 Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

It is not an unusual thing for Christians to undergo trial for their faith and if we are ministering the gospel faithfully we should expect push back from the enemy.

**** SLIDE 21

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

When we lost contact with our granddaughter it was not really a surprise to me. Our daughter and her boyfriend have used Tianah as a way to try and prove their point in the past. What did happen however is that I lost my focus on Jesus Christ and his return and focused on the circumstances.

**** SLIDE 22

We should live alert keeping our minds on the grace and the glory to be revealed at the return of Jesus.

Luke 21:34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

**** SLIDE 23

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

After God had prepared me to listen to him, Beth and I recieved some godly counsel. As God continued to work on my heart Beth and I decided to contact our daughter and show her kindness. Within a couple of weeks we were sitting down around the grill at her home talking about things as a family. I was able to pray and speak the gospel to them again. That night we were able to bring our granddaughter home and minister to her.

**** SLIDE 24

Now I do not know how things will go in the future but I do know this. When I keep my focus on the return of Jesus Christ rather than on the cares of this life, I begin to see things in the light of God’s truth and love.

Pray!

I want to thank Pastor Jim for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to seeing you all next week.