Summary: How God uses trials to develop Christ-like character in us.

Romans 5:3-4

The Truth about Trials

Introduction

· Was Paul crazy? Rejoice when we run into problems and trials?

· Did we just read what we just read? Is God really serious in His word that we have the ability through Jesus to actually rejoice when we suffer hardship?

Message in a Nutshell

· Contrary to those who proclaim a unbalanced theology of health – wealth – and prosperity, the Bible does tell us to expect to run into problems, trials and tribulations.

· Not only does the Bible tell us to expect them in the Christian walk but it goes a step further to tell us that God actually allows them and uses them to develop Christlikeness in us.

Listen to what Paul wrote about in his own life in II Corinthians 6:3 Paul’s Hardships

3 _ We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. 4 _ In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 _ We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 _ We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit.£ 7 _ We have faithfully preached the truth. God’s power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. 8 _ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. 10Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

· I mean…would we say that Paul the apostle lacked faith or a positive confession because he did not exercise his authority in Christ and overcome all his obsticles in life and claim health – wealth – and prosperity!

· Yet this teaching is promoted in America – but is not necessarily found in the international Christian community and it’s not found in the Bible.

· What is Paul telling us in Romans 5:3-4? What is God saying to us through His Word?

· (proposition/ subject) THE BIBLE IS TELLING US THAT OUR TRIALS CAN WORK FOR US AND NOT AGAINST US – BUT ONLY WE CAN DETERMINE THE COURSE.

· (compliment – explain the subject) We often have a natural tendency to ask the question “Why” when we run into trials and hardship. This is our first reaction and it’s by no means wrong. However, when we move beyond the question of why to a place of hope and trust (confidence) in the Lord – God is developing character in us through the trials. It is this strength – this character that enables us to hope in Christ when our difficulties seem hopeless.

· Peter mentions this very fact to the suffering Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. A group of churches undergoing severe persecution when Nero the emperor of Rome was killing thousands of Christians by imprisonment, starvation, death and chains.

· I Peter 1:6-9

Body

· Understanding – Now what does Paul mean when he tells us to rejoice when we run into trails?

· Well – I think that a good definition of the word rejoice is in order here…

· The Amplified Bible describes rejoicing as “being full of joy right now! Exulting in the triumph of our troubles

· The Greek word Paul used for rejoice ( or in the KJV “glory”) is the word boast – meaning that in the midst of our times of trials we have the ability to praise God.

[ illustration] Ever meet a “woe is me Christian?”

A woe is me Christian is one that has not learned the principle of giving God praise in times of trail.

I would like to think that I have reached this point like Paul says of “rejoicing when we run into problems and trials – for we know that they are good for us” but the truth is…I’m not quite there yet.

If you ask a “woe is me” Christian…”How are you doing today brother?” They will always answer you by explaining their troubles, trials, hardships and ill health…”Woe is me!”

After talking to a “woe is me” Christian for about 5 minutes (and about 5 minutes is about all one can handle) one will feel like all the life within them has just been sucked out! And if your not careful you’ll get sucked into the pity party because a “woe is me” Christian never likes to party by themselves – they always want others to join them!

· You see the woe is me Christian has bought into Satans lie that all is hopeless and will ever be hopeless – and they have lost their ability to exult in joy at the coming triumph of their trials.

· What did this rejoicing in the midst of trials means for Paul? Put yourself in his shoes…I mean, he wrote this!

· If encountering a “woe is me” Christian I believe he would respond the way he responded to the Corinthians!

II Corinthians 11:23-30 23 _ They say they serve Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 _ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not.£ 27I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28 _ Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along. 29Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

· 30 _ If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31

· In the conclusion of that chapter Paul sums it up by saying, “ Since I know it is all for Christ’s good…I am content…for when I am weak, it is then that I am really strong.

Belief

· Why is it then that Paul can say that in his trials he can be content?

· What is the truth about trial?

· Why must we run into hardships?

· Why doesn’t God just deliver us each time and keep us from experiencing pain?

· The text continues and gives us the answer…

· Trials actually are good for us because they help us develop in three area’s:

Endurance

It is said that when your face to face with a difficulty – your up against a discovery!

· Think over the times in your life – is it not the times when you have faced a drawn out difficulty that you have discovered something life changing about Jesus?

· Something that you can anchor your hope in knowing that if you face another difficulty in the future – you know that God can be trusted.

· To endure is the ability to carry through despite the hardship.

· Parents learn this when faced with sick children.

· Spouses learn this when their husband or wife become ill or incapacitated.

· We learn this when we encounter difficulties beyond our control.

· God often allows difficulties in our lives to teach us not to quit but to endure – and when we do we learn the life changing lesson that GOD CAN BE TRUSTED THROUGH ALL OUR DIFFICULITES.

[illustration]

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re truging seems all uphill,

When funds are low and debts are high,

And you want to smile but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit!

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up, though the paced seems slow –

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victors cup.

And he learned too late, when the night slipped down

How close he was to the golden crown

· As a pastor I often hear prayer requests to be delivered from difficulties, hardships and trials.

· But often I can see the hand of God in them trying to teach the person something about Himself they never realized – Often its to trust Him in a area of their life they have never trusted Him in.

· So Endurance teaches us quite confidence and trust in God.

t.s Paul goes on to say that Endurance develops in us strength of character.

Strength of Character

· Do you know what a good definition of character is?

· Character is who we are when nobody is looking.

· The Bible tells us that God searches our hearts to determine the level of character that has been developed in us.

· Often character is only refined in us through tribulation.

· Our English word “Tribulation” comes from the Latin word “Tribulum”

· When Paul wrote that we can rejoice in our tribulations he used a word picture that his readers could relate to.

· A Tribulum in Paul’s day was a heavy timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it separated the wheat from the chaff.

· As we go through tribulations, and depend on Gods grace, the trials only purify us and help us to get rid of the chaff.

· James echo’s this truth about character development through trials in James 1 verse 2 (turn there)

2 _ Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. 3For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

· Like I always say…God is not so much concerned with our comfort as He is in our character.

· The only thing we will take with us when we stand before God – is the character traits of Jesus that we have allowed to be developed in our life.

Endurance – Strength of Character – lead to one more quality that God wants to perfect in us through trials…

Hope

· Hope in its simplest definition is to have confidence and trust.

· This definition ties in well with the context of this passage.

· The process difficulites in our lives is this:

Tribulation – Endurance – Strength of Character – All eventually lead down one path – A unshakable and confident Trust in Jesus!

· The truth about trials is simple: Though they are difficult to endure – if we allow God to teach us through the trials – we can rejoice because when the trial is over we will have learned to trust in Jesus better.

· Andre’ Crouch used to sing a song and a stanza was…Through it all…Through it all..Iv’e learned to trust in Jesus …Iv’e learned to Trust in God.

· When we place our Hope in Christ it is then that we become the masters rather then the victims of difficulties.

Behavior- The Close of the Sermon

· So How can I rejoice in My Trials?

Focus on the Process instead of the Pain

If you “hold the course” you’ll find that you have become a:

Stronger Christian

Stable Christian

And a Confident Christian

· One promise that the Lord makes to us gives me great comfort in the midst of trial…

· Its found in Phillipians 1:6 “ And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.”

· As we end this time I want to leave you with a song by Keith Green – a song that really puts the truth about trials into perspective. Its called “When Trials turn to Gold”. (have the soundman play the CD)

Closing Prayer-a-Phrase

“Lord Jesus, help us – enable us – to rejoice when we run into problems and trials. Lord Jesus, let us fix our eyes on the process more then the pain – knowing that in the end

they actually help us learn to endure and develop strength of character. Lord, knowing that this kind of character leads to a confident hope and trust in you.”

“Father, I ask that you would show yourself near to those who are experiencing trials right now – strengthen their endurance, work in them character and give them your hope.

In Jesus Name - Amen