HopeLives365

Guest (Male): We can face our trials because one day we will know that we'll see Jesus' face. We stand in the face of the wind's adversity because we know a better day is coming. We can face today's darkness because of tomorrow's glory.

Guest (Female): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: Ministry of Trials. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: It was one of the saddest letters that I ever received. A young mother of two beautiful girls about three and five years old was happily preparing lunch for the joys of her life. She didn't hear the screen door to the pool open and didn't see her three-year-old crawl out to the pool area or recognize that the five-year-old had followed her.

She didn't hear the thrashing in the pool, the cries, and then silence. She arrived minutes too late and both girls drowned. It's difficult to imagine her feelings of sadness that were mixed with feelings of personal guilt and anger at God. The question of why was always present. "God, if you love me, why'd you allow this to happen? God, I didn't just deserve this."

For weeks the dark clouds of discouragement settled over her. It was difficult to function. Yet through this trial of her life, she clung to a slender thread of hope. She began reading her Bible with new eyes. She read it now not merely for information, but to experience God. At the point at which she wrote to me, her life was transformed.

She still had pain and expected the grief to continue for some time. She did experience the grief of loss, but she had worked through her grief to a meaningful experience with God. Here is the essence of what she wrote: "Through my pain, Pastor, in midst my tears, I've learned to trust God. I know what it means in my mind to lay my head on his breast, to have him hold me in his arms, and to whisper words of hope in my ears."

You see, she no longer had to understand why because now she could focus on who: the Christ who could get her through the deepest trial of her life. I want to talk to you about the ministry of trials. Most of the time we want to run from trials, not to embrace them. Trials are something not to be avoided, but rather to learn from, to grow in.

We want to say, "Oh, I want to avoid my trials. I don't want to cherish them." But let's turn to First Peter chapter one and read verses six to nine. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing with him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end or the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

The first epistle of Peter was written in approximately AD 64 to Christian believers scattered throughout the area we now know as Turkey. This letter was written at a time when they experienced trials, persecution, false accusations, and suffered intensely for righteousness' sake.

Here is what is behind the fierce persecution of the early Christians. On July 19, AD 64, the Great Fire of Rome broke out. Rome was a populous city of narrow streets and high wooden tenements. The fire burned continuously for three days and three nights, and just at the point when it appeared the fire was over, it broke out again.

Almost the whole city was burned to the ground. The Roman citizenry were convinced that Nero, the emperor, had set the fire. Nero loved building and evidently wanted to rebuild the city to a more glorious splendor, so had it burned. To save himself in the midst of the rising tide of accusations, Nero blamed the Christians for burning the city.

Fierce persecutions followed. The Christians suffered horribly. Tacitus, the Roman historian, writes: "Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by the dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses or were doomed to the flames and burned to serve as nightly illumination when the daylight expired."

Many fled from Rome to southeast Turkey to save their lives and protect their families. It was this group of believers that Peter was writing to: a group of scattered Christians living far from home, suffering persecution, and facing enormous trials. Peter makes five points regarding trials in First Peter chapter one, verses seven to nine.

He talks about the genuineness of your faith. Trials reveal whether our faith is genuine or superficial. The time to prepare for trials is before the trials ever come. If we wait for the trials to come, our faith will falter. Every single one of us will experience trials in our lives. Trials in a world of sin are inevitable.

We prepare for the valleys in our lives when we're on the mountain peak of experience with God. We prepare for the tough times when we're experiencing the good times. We prepare for what is to come by spending time with God every day and drawing from him spiritual strength.

William Carey is considered the father of modern missions. For many years, he was a shoemaker in London, England. He had a map on the wall of his shoemaking place of business which said, "Listen to this: I cobble shoes to pay expenses, but soul winning is my business." His dream was to share Christ with those who did not know him.

Eventually, God led him to India. After William Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon, the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect.

He had also prepared dictionaries and grammar books for the use of his successors. His translation work was the work of a lifetime. One day, while Pastor Carey was away, a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building that housed the presses, Bibles, the precious manuscripts, the dictionaries, and the grammar books.

When he returned and was told of the tragic loss, he showed no sign of despair or impatience. Instead, he knelt, thanked God that he still had the strength to do the work over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in self-pity. Before his death, he had duplicated and even improved on his earlier achievements.

William Carey knew God. He did not wither under the trials of life. He was prepared for trial because he had a daily experience with the one who is fully capable of handling any trial we ever face. Trials cause us to examine our faith. Did you notice there in First Peter chapter one, verse six and seven, the scripture says: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

So our faith is tested by our trials. When we go through a period of trying times in our lives, we have the opportunity to examine our relationship with God more fully. It's possible that God is allowing us to go through trial to reveal to us the need to strengthen our faith. God allows the trial not to make us bitter, but to make us better.

Trials cause us to reflect, to examine our hearts, to understand more clearly, and comprehend more fully God's plan and purpose for our lives. There's a fascinating expression in First Peter chapter one, verse six and seven. It says: "You have been grieved by various..." Another word for various is manifold trials.

In other words, the trials are not simply one trial. The Greek word for manifold is many-colored trials. So the text might read: "For a brief time, you've been grieved by these many-colored trials so that your faith, being tested, can grow richer and stronger." Here's something quite fascinating. Peter uses this expression "many-colored" only once more in his epistle.

He says we are stewards of the manifold grace of God (First Peter 4:10). Notice the contrast: the evil one brings manifold trials, God supplies manifold grace. Trials come in many colors. Listen to this: but God's grace outshines them all. Our troubles may be many-colored, but so is the grace of God. There is no color in the human situation that God's grace cannot unmatch.

Now there's the third thing about trials: trials lead us to depend on God. First Peter chapter one, verse seven and eight. In verse seven, the last part it says, "by the fire of these trials, that is, may be found to praise, honor, and glorify at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."

So trials lead us to dependence. This is an amazing passage. Trials have a time limitation. In the big scheme of things, that's incredibly encouraging. There are for a little while these trials that come to us, but God limits the trials. In fact, in First Corinthians chapter ten, verse thirteen it says, "There is no test or trial that comes to you, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tried or tested above what you're able."

So with the trial, God limits the impact of that trial, limits the time of that trial, limits the strength of that trial, and gives us the strength to meet the trial. Secondly, trials come if they need be. In other words, although God never wants to harm us and he doesn't want harm to come to us and is not the author of these tests, Satan brings these trials upon us.

God only allows them if we have need in our character to develop a deeper experience with him. In our human nature, we tend to attempt to focus on what we can do. We are prone to depend on our wisdom, our expertise, our intelligence, our strength to solve problems. And that method may work for a while until we are confronted with challenges or trials that are so much bigger than we are that we say, "God, I cannot do this. I don't have the strength. This is far too big for me to deal with. Only you can solve the problem."

So trials and obstacles are God's appointed agencies of leading us to prayer to develop a deeper experience with God so we can grow in our character. Did you remember that earlier verse in First Peter chapter one, verse five, where it says: "who are kept by the power of God through the faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

We are kept by the power of God through faith. The word for kept in the Greek language is a word that is actually a military term. It's better translated to protect. In our journey of faith, we are protected by God. He stands watch over us as a sentinel all of our days. It is not that God saves us from the troubles, trials, and tribulations of life. It is that he enables us to encounter them, to bear them, to conquer them, and march on.

Do you remember that wonderful little poem regarding trials by an unknown author? "God has not promised skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways all our life through. God has not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. But God has promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love."

Amy Carmichael quotes Andrew Murray, pioneer missionary to Africa, in her book. Her book's called "Though Mountains Shake," and she describes Andrew Murray's relationship to his trials this way. First, Murray says, "God brought me here. It's by his will I'm in this strait place. In that fact, I will rest."

Next, "He will keep me here in his love and give me grace to behave as his child." Then, "He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons he intends me to learn and working in me the grace he means to bestow." Last, "In his good time, he can bring me out again. How and when, he knows." "Let me say," Andrew Murray says, "I am here: one, by God's appointment; two, in his keeping; three, under his training; four, for this time."

Trials deepen our faith. In First Peter chapter one, verse eight and nine, I read: "whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end, that is, the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

In God's service, we are going to meet with obstacles and difficulty. But these must not be allowed to discourage us. These events belong to God. We're in his hands. We're his child. And his servants will meet with difficulties. They will meet with opposition. These are God's chosen methods to help us grow in character. They are methods of discipline.

They are his appointed conditions for sure progress and success. So don't fight against the trials. Don't rebel against the trials. Accept what God has happening to you, accept what has happened to you. Trust God in spite of trials. Move ahead with sincerity and faith that your character can be formed after the character of Christ.

I remember we were building our HopeLives center, our church, our studios. And my wife and I were away on some speaking appointments. We were in San Antonio, Texas, for evangelistic meetings. And as we were there, we got this phone call: "Call immediately." So we called back, and our building foreman said, "The roof of the building collapsed."

We were just putting up the roof, just putting up the trusses for the roof. A windstorm came through. It collapsed. It ruined all of the carpentry there, and it's a terrible situation. "We're going to have to repair it and it's going to delay us." We were so, so troubled by that. But we get on our knees and we said, "God, you could have stopped this."

And our first question was, "Were there workmen working?" Yes. "Was anybody hurt?" Well, one man was knocked off the roof and broke some bones, but he is going to be okay. Praise God that in this trial of building our church, building our TV and radio center, that nobody was severely injured.

Then as we continued to build, we faced financial challenges. They were amazing. We didn't know how can we go on. We needed payments of $350,000 a month approximately. And one day I was by my bed praying, saying, "God, I don't know how I could go on." A friend of mine from Three Angels Broadcasting Television called me, and he said, "Somebody has made a donation here to you. It's labeled for the HopeLives center for $50,000." I said, "Praise God."

I was preaching in Ireland, and after preaching in a hotel in the country of Ireland about Jesus, two scientists came up to me who were from one of the Eastern European countries. And they said, "Pastor Mark, what projects do you have?" I had never met them before. I told them the projects. They sent me $100,000.

I was broadcasting and just began to broadcast. A businessman was in a hotel in Dubai and sent funding in. Through all the trials of our building our church, building our school of evangelism, building our radio and TV ministry, for all the building trials that we had, for all of the financial trials we had, God worked miracles for us.

And those trials grew our faith so we would trust God more when we launched into a much bigger project, a retreat center for pastors. So what do trials do? They extend our faith. Trials enable us to look beyond what is to what will be. Trials focus our attention on God's glorious plan for our future. They create a longing in our hearts for something better.

They kindle the flame of hope in our hearts that Jesus will one day come again and the trials of life will be over. They create a longing for eternity in the deepest recesses of our being. In First Peter chapter one, verse nine and ten, we read about this fact. When you're going through trial, look beyond the trial. Ask God, "God, what are you doing to build my character? What are you doing, God, to develop my faith in a deeper way? What are you doing, God, to help me to long for eternity even more?"

Every trial has a purpose. Every difficulty has a purpose. Every challenge has a purpose. That purpose is to help us trust God greater. That purpose is to strengthen our faith. That purpose is to prepare us for something bigger, greater in the future that God is going to do. And that purpose is to help us to long for eternity.

First Peter chapter one, verse nine, verse ten: "receiving the end of your faith, the result of your faith, the salvation of souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently and prophesied of what the grace would be that would come." Now notice: "searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in you indicating that he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ that would be revealed."

So as we go through trial, we think about Jesus went through suffering. We think about the difficulties that he went through and we receive the end of our faith, which is the result of our faith. And what's the result of all this faith? The salvation of our souls. Look, First Peter chapter four, verse twelve and thirteen adds this insight: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake in Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you also may be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on yours he is glorified."

So don't think it strange when these trials come upon you. We rejoice that we can be partaking of Christ's sufferings. Why? That when his glory may be revealed... Here then is the recipe for endurance in trial. When life is hard and faith is difficult, trust God. We can face our trials because one day we know that we'll see Jesus' face.

We stand in the face of the wind's adversity because we know a better day is coming. We can face today's darkness because of tomorrow's glory. We can face life's tough times and toughest times because we know that every trial is a test to purify and strengthen our faith because at the end of it all, Jesus Christ is waiting to say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

Guest (Male): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: For the Christian, persecution, trouble, and affliction is not the end. There's something beyond. There lies the glory, and in the hope of that glory the Christian can endure anything life throws at them. A number of years ago, I read the story of a ship lost in the North Sea.

And as that ship was lost in the fog, it was adrift three days. It had a large flock of sheep aboard that was to deliver. And for those three days, the sheep refused to eat that was stored in the boat for them. One day, after three days to the side of the boat and began to bleat, and they bleated and bleated for hours.

At that moment, the fog began to lift and the boat was just off the Scottish coast. They had smelled the freshly mown fields of Scotland, and they did not want to eat the old stale hay on that boat. When we smell the glory of another land over trials and all of our difficulties and all of life's crushing blows and all of our painful adversity and all of our difficulties and all of our challenges and all of these stones that Satan throws at us, pale into insignificance in the light of eternity. As the old song says, "When all my trials and labors are o'er and I am safe on that beautiful shore, just to be near the dear Lord I adore will through the ages be glory for me."