I had a reason to be in Richfield a couple of weeks ago. I guess one needs a reason to be in Richfield.
And on the way back I knew I couldn't get on 35W coming north.
So I thought I'll just slip over here to St. Paul and go on 7th Street.
But after I got on the 7th Street I found out that 7th Street was shut down for repairs.
And they had a sign saying detour. So I turned at the sign and went about a block and I could see up ahead of me about 20 others had done that same thing.
And they were all waiting at a stop sign to get onto a busy street.
So I whipped around to the right and went back a different direction only to find a sign that said street closed.
I began to think I was in the twilight zone. Everywhere I went there was an obstacle.
And I'm like most people, I don't mind obstacles as long as they don't get in the way.
Really nothing shows more accurately what we're made of than obstacles, do they?
The difficulties, the conflicts, the disappointments that we all face, these are what we call the trials of life.
One man said to another, you sure look worried.
And his friend said, well, I'll tell you, I've got so many troubles that if anything bad happens today it'll take me two weeks to get around to worrying about it.
You ever feel that way? The trials of life press in on you?
You see, mingled with life's seasons of sunshine and pleasant warmth come other seasons of clouds and cutting cold.
These times are what we call the trials of life, and they're universal.
Some trials come to us because we live in a fallen world.
I think, for example, of a family in another church here in St. Paul whose daughter, I think a year ago it was, left home, went to serve in the armed forces in Texas.
Wonderful Christian who sang a song similar to what we just did in her church the Sunday before she left.
And there she was abducted and raped and murdered.
And the trial that that family has gone through in the last year because of living in a fallen world.
Some trials come to us because we bring them on ourselves, because of our foolish mistakes that we make.
Perhaps those are some of the most difficult ones because we don't have anybody else to blame.
Some trials though do come because of the mistakes of others.
Ask the parent who has a child that's wayward.
Some trials come because we're attacked by Satan. Job knew the meaning of that, didn't he?
Some trials come to us because God has determined to prove us.
Such was the case with Israel in the wilderness, according to Deuteronomy 8.4.
For during those years God tested his people to see what was in their hearts.
Some trials come because we stand faithful for Christ.
People respond differently to trials.
Some people say, God is punishing me for what I have done bad.
Others say, this isn't fair. Why is it happening to me?
And still others respond by saying, I think I'm going to go out and get good and drunk and just forget about this.
The trials of life.
We as people who profess faith in a sovereign God who directs our days and shepherds our seasons,
how ought we who profess such things to respond to the trials of life?
I'd like you to open your Bible to 1 Peter chapter 1.
At the close of this message I will introduce to you somebody who's present this morning
who gives us a wonderful example to follow in the trials of life.
But before I do that, I would like to make it clear that I believe Christians ought to approach trials
in a way that is distinct from the surrounding world.
And I believe Peter underscores this when he writes as he does beginning in verse 3 of 1 Peter 1,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy
has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary,
you have been distressed by various trials that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold
which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Christians approach trials in a way that is distinct from the world around us.
I think Peter mentions at least three attitudes that Christians hold in the face of trials that make them distinct.
In the first place, we who are believers in Jesus Christ and in a God who is sovereign accept trials
as a necessary part of life, even though now for a little while, necessarily, says Peter,
you have been distressed by various trials.
He says something similar in the fourth chapter of this same book in verse 12,
when he says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you,
which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.
Christians accept trials as a necessary part of life.
In northern Chile, there is a strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
Clouds gather here so seldom that it almost never rains.
Morning after morning, the sun rises brilliantly over the mountains to the east.
Noonday, it shines hotly straight down upon that strip of land.
In the evening, often sunsets are gorgeous over the ocean.
Although there are storm clouds that appear over the mountains to the east,
and there are fog banks that occasionally come to the ocean to the west,
that land never is plagued by those things.
And while we may think it is a paradise on earth to be in such a place,
actually, this strip of land is desolate and sterile, because there is no water there, and nothing grows.
You see, clouds and rain are necessary, not only for nature, but for our lives as well.
The trials of life prove us.
They are essential to document where we are in our faith's maturity and to purify our character.
The quality of our faith is revealed like the purity of gold is refined in the fire.
The greatest of saints who have ever lived have experienced great trials of life.
The ordeals that they passed through exposed what they were made of spiritually.
I think, for example, of Abraham, who is mentioned here in a book just before Peter, James, and Hebrews.
In the eleventh chapter, in this great chapter of faith, it says,
by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. Go back and read the account in Genesis 22,
and you see that God intended to test Abraham by what he told him to do.
The greatest of saints have been tested, as we are tested.
Therefore, we are to rejoice in our trials, according to what James says.
For he says, consider it all joy when you encounter various trials,
the very same word that Peter uses, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance,
and let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
He means that we will become mature in our character, not lacking.
But he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously,
and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
We rejoice in our trials, says James, because God has a purpose in them. They are necessary for life.
We can choose to complain about our trials, or we can choose to use them.
We can grumble about them, or get angry about them.
Or we can ask God for wisdom to know how to use them in the way that God intends.
And that's what James says. If you lack wisdom, to know how to respond to the trial
that God is allowed to come to your life, then ask of God, because he does not withhold wisdom
when we ask that of him in faith.
It is interesting, isn't it, that often the same thing that makes one person bitter makes another person better?
The difference is in the attitude of the heart, the heart that accepts the trial,
and is willing to hear the voice of God.
The heart that heeds God's design in the trial, who sees it as a necessary part of his life,
that heart is the one that will become better.
Remember that all sunshine and no rain makes a desert.
Believers accept the trials of life as a necessary part designed by God.
There's another attitude that believers have, according to what Peter says,
and that is that we are assured of God's promises in our trials.
Again, in chapter 4 of 1 Peter, he says,
Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
We have a Creator who is faithful.
In the midst of our trials we may entrust our souls to him. He will not fail us.
Let me suggest to you a couple of the promises of God about which we may be assured.
One, the Holy Spirit's presence.
Again, here in chapter 4 verse 14, Peter writing to people who are in the trial of persecution for their faith,
says, If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Now, not only those in that kind of a trial, but a believer in any kind of a trial can be assured
that the Holy Spirit is present in the midst of that trial.
Someone has said, When God's children are in the furnace, he is in there with them.
And so whatever trial you may be passing through today, be assured of the promises of God.
One of his promises is that he will be there with you in the midst of the hurt and the pain and the disappointment.
As we heard sung a few minutes ago, No matter where you are or where you've been, he won't let you go.
It's a great thought, isn't it?
There's a second promise that we may be assured about, and that is that we have God's deliverance.
Not only his presence, but his deliverance.
Peter writes about this in his second epistle as he continues addressing those who are in the midst of suffering.
And in the second chapter of 2 Peter, he talks about God's ability to deliver his own from trials.
We'll look at verse 9 where he says, The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation.
That is the same word that he's used before where it's been translated trials.
Now whether it's temptation to evil or trials of life like we're talking about this morning,
it is the fact that God knows how to rescue his people and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.
And he gives us two marvelous examples in the previous verses, one of them Noah, who lived in a godless culture.
A world not unlike our own as Jesus himself predicted it would be.
For he said, As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.
I believe those days are upon us and that our culture is becoming more and more like that of the culture that Noah and his family knew.
But God knew how to keep Noah who walked with him.
And he delivered him in all of the trials that must have been involved in living in a world like that.
Can God keep you and your family?
Of course he can.
So we may be assured about God's deliverance.
And then he mentions Lot, less of an honored character in the Bible.
Lot, the nephew of Abraham, who was a very worldly believer.
And yet Lot, despite his problems, despite his tendency to live for the flesh and for the moment,
Lot himself was vexed and troubled by the culture of Sodom and Gomorrah.
It deeply bothered him, and God knew how to deliver Lot, and he did, before the judgment came.
You and I are assured of God's deliverance in the midst of our trials.
I have read that as you sail through the Hudson River, there is one particular place where you come
but it seems that you're about to be hemmed in by the great hills on either side and ahead of you.
It seems as though as you approach what seems to be a hill directly in front of you with no outlet,
that your boat will be dashed to pieces.
And yet as you get right to that point, there is an opening, a channel to the right,
where you may take your boat safely.
And so it seems that way sometimes in life, doesn't it?
As we go down the river of our trials and we think there's no way out of this,
I'm going to be crushed, I'm going to be destroyed in this,
and yet God at the right time makes the way of escape.
So we may be assured of the promises of God in our trials.
Peter says they don't last forever.
It seems like it when we're going through them.
But he says for a little while, necessarily, you need to be tried.
Trials don't last forever.
God fashions them for our benefit.
And in the end, he provides a way of release, escape, and deliverance for us.
And so believers accept trials as a necessary part of life.
The world does not.
The world gripes and complains and gets bitter about what happens in this fallen world.
Believers are assured of the promises of God in the midst of trial.
The world is not.
They do not have the promises of God.
Thirdly, believers anticipate sharing Christ's glory.
Peter writes that in chapter 1 in verses beyond the text that we read earlier.
For he says, And though you have not seen him, you love him.
And though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible
and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
You and I anticipate the completion of our salvation when Jesus will be revealed.
His glory will be known.
Again, in chapter 4, Peter brings Christians in trial to this place because he says in verse 13,
But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing,
so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exaltation.
You see, when we endure the trials of life, we have reward at the coming of Christ.
And Peter, as well as Paul, suggests to us that there is an equivalence between the trials and the glory.
That to the degree that we suffer with him and endure those sufferings,
so we will receive reward and glory when Jesus comes.
Particularly is that the case when those trials that we suffer fall to us because we belong to Christ.
The glory that is coming is not merely our being changed to be like Jesus, as wonderful as that is.
But the glory that is mentioned, it seems here in particular, is that privilege,
that opportunity that you and I will have to serve him in his coming kingdom.
The point being that the more we are willing to endure in this world for him,
the more opportunity we will have to serve him in some capacity in his coming kingdom.
So in contrast and distinction to all the world around us, we believers look at trials with anticipation and joy.
Because they mean Christ is coming and when he comes, we will share glory with him.
An elderly preacher years ago in North Wales by the name of Dr. Rees was told by one of his parishioners as he entered the church,
You're whitening fast, Dr. Rees. I think it had more to do than with his gray hair.
He was an old man and he said, You're whitening fast, Dr. Rees.
Well, the old fellow smiled but he said nothing at that point. He got up and he began to preach.
And in his sermon he said, There's a small white flower that blooms at this season of the year.
Sometimes it must push its way through the snow and frost, but we're glad to see it because it proclaims to all that winter is over and summer is at hand.
A friend has just reminded me that I am whitening fast. Do not be concerned, brother.
To me this is only a blessed proof that my winter of trials will soon be over and that my eternal summer is at hand.
What a tremendous attitude. What an example for us to have. To anticipate the sharing of Christ's glory.
What attitude do you have about your trials? Are you resentful of them?
Have you resigned yourself and said, Well, there's nothing I can do. I just have to live with it.
Are you belligerent? How much better as a believer in Jesus Christ to accept them as necessary?
To be assured in the midst of them of God's promises. To anticipate the reward that will be ours when Christ comes.
You and I need to know that God does not waste any experience that we have. Not one. Not one.
Now let me introduce you to the person who has given us a marvelous example of how to face a trial.
He's here with us this morning and his name is Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews says, Consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
If you think that your trial is tough, consider him.
If you think that your trial has gone on too long, it's more than you can handle, consider him.
If you think that your trial has no meaning or purpose, think again, consider him.
And as we come to his table and partake of these elements reminding us of the greatest of his trials, the cross.
Which he endured because of the joy that was set before him.
Let us partake then of these elements ourselves with joy that we have the opportunity to suffer with Christ.
Let us take of these elements with joy knowing that as we partake we are reminded that he also has tried and endured.
As we partake of these elements let us do it with gratitude in our hearts that we have a Savior who not only identifies with us but is with us today, right now, in the midst of what we're passing through.
And he will never let us go.
Let's pray.
Just as a diamond cannot be polished without friction, neither can your character or mine without trials.
God is polishing you through what you're experiencing.
And yet if the attitude of your heart has been something other than acceptance, assurance, and anticipation,
wouldn't it be good to acknowledge that to the Lord right now before we come to his table?
Wouldn't it be wonderful just to say, Lord I confess, wrong attitudes.
And let him wash it and wipe it clean.
And then give yourself to godly attitudes as Peter suggests to us as you face the trials of your life.
For Jesus as we come to this table we come with deep gratitude that you understand, you know what trials are all about.
You have endured trials as we endure them.
You are sympathetic to us.
And we come to this table asking that you renew us in spirit.
That we may face life as it comes to us by your sovereign hand with faith that enables us to endure.
As we partake of this bread with gratitude.
Show us again what you endured in your body for our sake. Amen.