Date: February 25, 2008.
Text : James 1:1-4
Aim : To let them understand what trials is all about and how we should react in times like this.
Intro : Great men of God passed through this and it proves their worth. – ex. Job, Noah, Moses, etc. - There’s no shortcut road to success, leadership and rulership!
Discussion:
A. WHY DOES GOD TEST AND TRY US?
1. Pressure Produces Enlargement
- "Thou hast enlarged me when I was under pressure" (Ps 4:1 rsv)
- To make us a better person for the tasks yet ahead.
- "Thou hast enlarged me when I was under pressure" (Ps 4:1 rsv)
- To make us a better person for the tasks yet ahead.
2. Trials Prove And Humble Us
"Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might test thee, to do thee good at thy latter end" (Deut 8:15,16).
- When God plans to enlarge and bless a minister or a church, He first takes them down into depths of discouragement, into the quagmire of hopeless situations. He does it "... so you would never feel it was your own power and might that made you wealthy [great]" (Deut 8:17).
"Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might test thee, to do thee good at thy latter end" (Deut 8:15,16).
- When God plans to enlarge and bless a minister or a church, He first takes them down into depths of discouragement, into the quagmire of hopeless situations. He does it "... so you would never feel it was your own power and might that made you wealthy [great]" (Deut 8:17).
3. Suffering Can Increase God's Power In Us
- He weakened my strength in the way" (Ps 102:23).
- Paul's Experience. “No. My grace [enablement] is adequate for you. My power [strength] shows up best in weak people... Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite happy about `the thorn,' and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong -- the less I have, the more I depend on him" (2Cor 12:5,7-10 tlb).
- Beware Of Pride
- He weakened my strength in the way" (Ps 102:23).
- Paul's Experience. “No. My grace [enablement] is adequate for you. My power [strength] shows up best in weak people... Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite happy about `the thorn,' and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong -- the less I have, the more I depend on him" (2Cor 12:5,7-10 tlb).
- Beware Of Pride
- Depend On God
- Rejoice In Trials
4. Affliction Separates The Chosen From The Called
- "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isa 48:10). In this verse, the word "chosen" is used in the sense of being "graded," as in a school course examination or test.
- "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matt 20:16). Why are few chosen? Because we are graded in the furnace of affliction, and few of us pass the test for leadership.
- "These shall make war with... the Lord of lords and the King of kings and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev 17:14).
- Three requirements were essential. You had first to be called, then chosen, and to have proved yourself faithful. Sufferings, trials and tribulations mark the path of those in this company. They've proven themselves worthy to be chosen and have stood faithful to the Lord, even if it meant hazarding their lives for Him.
5. Suffering Teaches Obedience
- "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Heb 5:8).
- "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.... If ye be without chastisement... then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Heb 12:6,8).
- "So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you" (1Pet 4:1,2,15,19 tlb).
- "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isa 48:10). In this verse, the word "chosen" is used in the sense of being "graded," as in a school course examination or test.
- "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matt 20:16). Why are few chosen? Because we are graded in the furnace of affliction, and few of us pass the test for leadership.
- "These shall make war with... the Lord of lords and the King of kings and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev 17:14).
- Three requirements were essential. You had first to be called, then chosen, and to have proved yourself faithful. Sufferings, trials and tribulations mark the path of those in this company. They've proven themselves worthy to be chosen and have stood faithful to the Lord, even if it meant hazarding their lives for Him.
5. Suffering Teaches Obedience
- "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Heb 5:8).
- "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.... If ye be without chastisement... then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Heb 12:6,8).
- "So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you" (1Pet 4:1,2,15,19 tlb).
6. Trials Produce Perseverance And Maturity
- "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature... not lacking anything" (Jas 1:2-4).
- The Cocoon And The Butterfly. A man once found a cocoon which had dropped from a tree. The butterfly was beginning to emerge, so he stopped to watch. It struggled for about forty-five minutes. In that time only the head and part of one wing emerged free of the cocoon. Thinking he would help the struggling butterfly accelerate the process, he took his razor-sharp pen knife and cut the cocoon open to release the emerging larvae. To his surprise, he found only the part which had emerged through great effort and struggle was developed. The part he had cut free was still undeveloped and not ready to be exposed to the elements outside the cocoon. Instead of helping the larvae become a butterfly, he had aborted the process. The half-developed butterfly soon died.
- "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature... not lacking anything" (Jas 1:2-4).
- The Cocoon And The Butterfly. A man once found a cocoon which had dropped from a tree. The butterfly was beginning to emerge, so he stopped to watch. It struggled for about forty-five minutes. In that time only the head and part of one wing emerged free of the cocoon. Thinking he would help the struggling butterfly accelerate the process, he took his razor-sharp pen knife and cut the cocoon open to release the emerging larvae. To his surprise, he found only the part which had emerged through great effort and struggle was developed. The part he had cut free was still undeveloped and not ready to be exposed to the elements outside the cocoon. Instead of helping the larvae become a butterfly, he had aborted the process. The half-developed butterfly soon died.
7. Trouble Tests Our Faith In God's Word
-"Every word of God is purified..." (Prov 30:5 lit). "The words of the Lord are pure [purified] words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Ps 12:6).
- Psalm 105:19, "Until the time that his [Joseph's] word came, the word of the Lord tried him."
-"Every word of God is purified..." (Prov 30:5 lit). "The words of the Lord are pure [purified] words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Ps 12:6).
- Psalm 105:19, "Until the time that his [Joseph's] word came, the word of the Lord tried him."
B. THREE CAUSES OF TRIALS
Any ill-timed or misdirected effort made in such circumstances will bring about a miscarriage of God's dealings. When people come crying to us in the midst of an ordeal, let us pray for great wisdom to discern whether this is:
- Dealings of God
- Self-induced trouble they have brought on themselves
- Attacks of Satan not within God's will. – Ex. Job
- Dealings of God
- Self-induced trouble they have brought on themselves
- Attacks of Satan not within God's will. – Ex. Job
C. RESPONSE TO TRIALS
1. If It Is God's Dealings: Submit. If it is God's dealings, We need to "Submit [ourselves] to God" (Jas 4:7) and draw on His grace to go through the trial victoriously.
2. If It Is Self-Induced: Learn. If it is S.I.T. (Self-Induced Trouble), let us learn from the problems we’ve brought on ourselves.
3. If It Is An Attack Of Satan: Fight. If it is satanic attack beyond God's will, we need to go to battle and resist the devil. "He will flee from you" (Jas 4:7).
4. Maintain the right Attitudes
- Maintaining a positive attitude in the midst of great suffering is the key to the triumphant Christian life. "Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (2Cor 2:14).
- Recognize God's Hand In Every Trial - The Lord, faithful to His promise, had surrounded Paul and Silas with "...songs of deliverance" (Ps 32:7).
- Don't Murmur Against God - Your response to the circumstances that befall you will determine whether you become bitter or better. God wants you to realize, "It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me" (Gal 2:20). Paul recounted five sins which caused Israel's failure in the wilderness. Here is the fifth: "And don't murmur against God and his dealings with you, as some of them did, for that is why God sent his Angel to destroy them" (1Cor 10:10 tlb).
- See Troubles As Working For You - "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2Cor 4:17). "The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever" (2Cor 4:18 tlb). God loves you very much. Great will be your reward in Heaven if you will but endure to the end.
- Maintaining a positive attitude in the midst of great suffering is the key to the triumphant Christian life. "Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (2Cor 2:14).
- Recognize God's Hand In Every Trial - The Lord, faithful to His promise, had surrounded Paul and Silas with "...songs of deliverance" (Ps 32:7).
- Don't Murmur Against God - Your response to the circumstances that befall you will determine whether you become bitter or better. God wants you to realize, "It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me" (Gal 2:20). Paul recounted five sins which caused Israel's failure in the wilderness. Here is the fifth: "And don't murmur against God and his dealings with you, as some of them did, for that is why God sent his Angel to destroy them" (1Cor 10:10 tlb).
- See Troubles As Working For You - "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2Cor 4:17). "The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever" (2Cor 4:18 tlb). God loves you very much. Great will be your reward in Heaven if you will but endure to the end.
Conclusion:
Illustration: Mother Eagle training her young to fly
- Removing the comfort to force them to learn how to fly!
Illustration: Mother Eagle training her young to fly
- Removing the comfort to force them to learn how to fly!
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