Alright brethren, let's turn
to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. When the faith of the saints
is written about, in a passage such as Hebrews 11. It's most commonly in conjunction
with trials. At your leisure, you can read
through Hebrews 11. Let me read you some of this. By faith, Noah, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house. By faith, Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither
he went. Through faith also, Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child
when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had
promised. By faith, Abraham, when he was
tried, offered up Isaac. By faith, Moses, when he was
born, he was hid three months by his parents because they saw
he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the king's
commandment. And then by faith, Moses, when he was come to years
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season. Where you find faith, a believer,
you'll find a trial. You'll find a trial. The Lord
said that. In this world you shall have
tribulation. But we're happy, even in the
midst of our trials, Peter begins here in 1 Peter 1, 6, he says,
wherein ye greatly rejoice. And he's talking about what he
had said before. We have reason to rejoice because
every believer is chosen of God. He's redeemed by the blood of
Christ. He's born again by the Spirit of God. He's given a living
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We rejoice
in the fact that we have an inheritance reserved for us. We rejoice that
we're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed. And yet, he says here, though
now for a season. If need be, you're in heaviness
through manifold temptations. Temptations here doesn't mean
temptations to sin, it means trials, which God decrees and
brings to pass, permits to come upon us from the affliction of
those who are his enemies. But believers are happy. We rejoice
greatly. but we're often in heaviness
through these trials. Paul described it this way, as
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. And he says here, verse seven,
that the trial of your faith, the proving of your faith to
be genuine. being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire." Just
like pure gold is put in a fire and it comes out and it's proven
to be pure gold, well, genuine faith, true God-given faith is
going to be put through fiery trials and come out proven to
be genuine faith. Verse 7 says that that the trial of your faith,
skipped down now, might be found unto praise and honor and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love.
You never have seen Christ with physical eyes, but you see him
by faith and you believe him, you love him. in whom though
now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory. Though you still don't see him,
yet believing in the midst of trials, you still rejoice with
joy unspeakable." It just can't be spoken too much of. It can't be really spoken about. It's just joy unspeakable, glorying
in the Lord who keeps us. And he says here that this trial
of your faith comes to this end, receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls. Those who endure to the end,
persevere to the end, shall be crowned with glory, everlasting
life by the Lord. Now we have many reasons, believers
have many reasons to joy in trials. I want to look at this tonight
under three headings here. Three things that just stuck
out to me in this text. First is trials are only for
a little season. He says here in verse 6, now
for a season. Secondly, trials are given by
God as needed. He says here, verse 6, if need
be. And thirdly, through trials,
we're being kept and brought to our desired end, to that end
which we desire. Verse 9, even the salvation of
your souls. First of all, we rejoice. We
have great reason to rejoice because the trial is for a season,
just for a season. It says here now, now for a season. They're for this present time.
They're for now. You know, there's different types
of trials, and I don't mean how they come about and the substance
of the trial. I mean, there are trials that
are happened this week. or may be coming this month,
or may come about this year. And in there are trials which
are the trials of this life, this whole trial of life we're
in. But we must, through much tribulation,
enter the kingdom of God. But they're only for a season.
for a short time. And as Paul said, they're little
and they're light, not maybe now at the present, but they're
little and they're light in comparison with the good and the profit
that God is gonna give us by them. And they're good in comparison
with eternity. They're just for a moment in
comparison with eternity. Paul said, for our light affliction
which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. Speaking of earthly fathers in
the Hebrew letter, Hebrews 12, Paul said, for they verily for
a few days chastened us. You remember when you were at
home with your father and he corrected you, chastened you,
lovingly cared for you, provided for you, you felt like those
days would last forever. But now you look back on them
and you realize that was just for a little season, wasn't it?
Well, that's what he says about these trials. It's just for a
little season. Turn over with me to Lamentations
3, and we can be sure we can be sure that the faithful father
who sends the trial, he has set the exact time for the trial
to end. These trials that may be heavy
right now upon us, right now, these trials that may come upon
us throughout this life, he set an end for each one. And he's
also set the end of this whole trial that we are in called life. Look here at Lamentations 3.31. For the Lord will not cast off
forever, but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion
according to the multitude of his mercies. It may seem like
he's cast off forever. It may seem like he's hidden
his face forever, that his help is far from us, but the reality
is he never casts off those he's everlastingly loved. Never. Paul said, who shall separate
us from the love of God in Christ? And he started with saying, shall
tribulation Shall distress or persecution or famine or nakedness
or peril or sword? No. In all these things, we're
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Paul said,
I'm persuaded nothing shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The child of
God has this sure consolation. We have this sure assurance that
following the grief There's going to be compassion. In the midst
of the grief, there's going to be compassion. Look there again
at Lamentations 3, 32. But though He caused grief, yet
will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.
Our Father's compassions are equal to the multitude of His
mercies. Yet will he have compassion according
to the multitude of his mercies. Peter calls his mercies abundant
mercies. And there in accordance, his
compassion is abundant compassion toward his children. The psalmist
said he hasn't dealt with us after our sins. Aren't you thankful? Believer, aren't you thankful?
God hasn't dealt with us after our sins. nor rewarded us according
to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions
from us. And He says, like as a father
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame, He
knows where dust. Which one would you rather have?
Would you rather have trials in this life that come to you
by the direct hand of your faithful heavenly Father and know that
He is doing it for your profit. Would you rather have that or
would you rather be left to yourself in this world? That's why I read
Luke chapter 6 to you. Blessed are ye that hunger now,
for ye shall be filled. But woe unto you that are rich,
for you've received your consolation. I'd rather have the faithful
hand of a father, even if it means trial. You children have
fathers in your homes that deal with you faithfully, won't leave
you to yourself. And at the time, that may come
across as being very unpleasant at times, but that's Faithfulness. You'd much rather have that than
a father that just left you alone and let you just be turned out
and go in a broad way. Well, this is our promise. He's appointed this trial for
a little season and he'll have compassion according to the multitude
of his tender mercies. That gives us reason to rejoice.
Here's the second thing we have reason to rejoice in, is he only
gives trials as needed, as needed. Verse 6, in our text he said,
wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be,
ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. Well, what is it
that the trial, what is it we may need? Well, we may need to
be weaned from depending on the things of this world. We all
need that. Some of us, brethren, need it
more at some times than other times, but we all need it, and
he's doing that. He's weaning us from this world.
We're so prone to start looking at the gold and the silver of
this world, or at our jobs, at our homes or at whatever it is
that gives us some confidence and gives us some assurance and
makes us think that we're secure somehow. We're so prone to start
looking at those things and feel very secure and not even realize
that we've, we're really putting our trust in those things. But
He's faithful. He won't leave us there. He won't
let us be separated from the One who is all our hope and all
our stay. Look at 1 Peter 1, down there
in verse 18. He says, For as much as you know,
you weren't redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. He's going to bring us to set
our affection on things above because he says this, for you're
dead in your life, your life, your real life is hid with God
in Christ. It's not hid here, it's not anywhere
here, it's not in treasures below. It's our treasure, our life is
hid with God in Christ. Well, the trial may be to grow
us in grace. He may be sending the trial to
grow us in grace, especially in humility and patience to wait
on God. To wait on God. Look over there
at 1 Peter 5. Peter says there verse 6 humble
yourselves therefore Under the mighty hand of God that he may
exalt you in due time Humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God that he may exalt you in due time Now I never put this
together, but before now, but look over at Romans 3 Romans
chapter 3 I'm sorry, Romans chapter 5. Paul was speaking of being justified
by faith. We have peace with God. We have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. We rejoice
in hope and in the glory of God. And he says this, verse 3, And
not only so, but with glory and tribulation also. Knowing that
tribulation worketh patience, steadfastness, and patience experience,
and experience hope, and hope maketh not a shame, because the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us. Now when did Christ come and
deliver those given him before the foundation of the world?
When did he come and deliver them? And what was your state
when he came and delivered you by laying down his life. Look
at verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly. When did he
do it? When we were completely without
strength in due time, in his time. Now consider what you were
then and consider by his grace what you are now. Now read on
verse 7. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, without strength, ungodly,
Christ died for us. That's when he did it. That's
where we were. Much more then, being now. Now, justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when, when,
when was the time he did that? When we were enemies. And if
he did it when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life. So we glory in tribulations,
don't we? Why? Because they're working
patience. They're teaching us to wait for
His due time. And that due time is going to
be when He's brought us to be without any strength in ourselves,
that He might show us that all our strength, all our being kept
is by His power. That's what James said when he
said, let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect
and entire and wanting nothing. Same thing Peter said, humble
yourselves therefore into the mighty hand of God that He may
exalt you in due time. In due time. Well, the trial
may be sent to you that you may be able to comfort your brethren
who are suffering in trial. That's what Paul said in 2 Corinthians
1 verse 3, blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who
comforted us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God, even Christ. For as the sufferings of Christ
abound in us, so our consolation abounds by Christ." The Apostle
Peter suffered a great trial. He began to be to look at his
graces, and he began to have the pride of grace, and think,
I won't deny you. These others might, but I won't.
Even though the word of God says, the Lord said that, told him,
you will all deny me tonight, for it's written. He said, I
won't, I won't. But he did. Then after he did
that, the Lord came to him. And he, having risen from the
dead, came to him. Peter over and over speaks of
that. That meant a lot to Peter. that Christ came to him having
been risen from the dead. He mentions that more than any
other apostle. He did this after he was risen
from the dead. And he came and he comforted
him, and now what's Peter doing? He's writing this letter to other
brethren suffering trials, comforting them with the same comfort wherewith
he was comforted, Christ the Lord. That's what he meant here
when he said, verse 3, Praise the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. We got, our Lord is alive. And he came, just as he came
to Peter and strengthened him and comforted him, so he comes
to his children and he comforts us. And we need, we need for
brethren to remind us He, how often do we have the burden and
the weight upon us from the trial and we, we go to Christ in prayer
and we, we ask him to take this burden. We ask him, Lord, take
this. Would you, would you deliver
me from this? And then we get finished praying
and we just go right on worrying about it. No. Carrying it ourselves. Well, cast all your care upon
Him for He careth for you. That's what Peter said. That's
what Peter learned. Cast all your care on Him for
He careth for you. Well, the trial might be to teach
us to redeem the time that we have. Look there in 1 Peter 4
verse 7. 1 Peter 4, verse 7. He said, But
the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch
unto prayer. Remember when the Lord was in
the Garden of Gethsemane? He came to Him, remember that?
And He said, Watch and pray that you fall not into temptation. And He came back And they were
asleep. Remember that? And he said, could
you not watch with me one hour? And he went away, and he prayed,
and he came back. They were asleep. He told them, be sober. Watch. He went away, and he came back.
They were asleep again. He said, the spirit's willing,
but the flesh is weak. It's weak. Oh, be sober, be vigilant,
redeem the time. I was thinking about this, talking
to a brother yesterday, and we were talking about this, talking
about Brother Tommy Robbins and our visits with him and what
have you. We were talking about this. Would we value the time
that we have to teach sinners? if we knew we only had six months
to live? Well, think about it in this
way. What if we knew that the world
would end in six months? Now we're not only going to be
taken out of it, we have We have confidence and hope in our Lord
and we've been begotten again by His grace and brought to behold
that He has redeemed us from all iniquity, that He's purged
our sin, that we've been washed in His blood and that we're accepted
in the Beloved, that we have been from before the foundation
of the world according as God chose us and put us in Him, that
we might be holy and without blame before Him in love. We
behold that. We have a good hope. But now
that you know the world's going to end in six months, you think
about that, then you think about your children that don't yet
know the Lord. Now it's not just us that's going
to leave in six months. Now we're thinking about somebody
else. Would we then value the time more than we do now when
we think we have plenty of time? You know, this trial, the trials
that come about in this life might be sickness or something
of that nature. It might come about to give us
a fresh remembrance, to be sober and to redeem the time, to watch,
be prayerful, to be looking for a time right now to teach our
children. Well, so the first thing is,
brethren, we know that it's for a season. And it's a short season.
It's just a little season. The second thing is, is he sends
it if need be. It's going to be needful. It's
going to be profitable to draw us to Christ. And here's the
third thing. We rejoice in the trial for the
chief end to which God's bringing us. Verse 7, 1 Peter 1, 7, he
says that, and I'm going to skip some
words here so we can get this, that your faith, drop down, might
be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. What's the power of God's keeping
grace? causing every believer to do. What's the peaceable fruit of
righteousness that the Spirit of God is going to cause to be
yielded in you, believer, through a trial? Look here, verse 8. Whom having not seen, ye love. It's going to increase faith
and love. in whom though now you see him
not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory." You know, nobody but a child of God really understands
how that through suffering, through trials, that God the Father increases
faith and hope and love in him. True faith, it springs up in
the soil that's been tilled by God's sin and trial, and it's
watered by many tears, but were kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. Just think about that. Look at
that with me, verse 5. Who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. The power of God gives persevering
faith. And persevering faith depends
entirely upon the power of God. That's an inseparable bond right
there. Isn't it? And that's what he
does through these. He has the power to send just
what we need, when we need it, just for the due time that we
need it, which has caused us to see that we're kept by the
power of God so that we persevere, our faith's increased, our love
for Christ has increased, and we persevere in faith, trusting
Him to keep us by that very same power. I love that. And here's, when we're kept by
the power of God through faith, here's the chief end, verse 9.
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, When we come to that day, I thought
about this, maybe I said this to you recently, I don't remember,
but I think it was at Thanksgiving, around Thanksgiving time, we
pulled out a bunch of old home movies and started watching all
these old home movies. And we watched Emma and Will,
and we just sat and laughed at ourselves. And laugh at how,
the kids would laugh at how that, you know, Melinda or I would
be telling them, you know, walk over here, don't walk over there,
or don't jump off of that, you know, or, you know, whatever.
And they'd just do it anyway, fall down. And now they know,
now they know. And we look back at those things
now and we think, oh, I was just such a, They laugh at how what
a little child you were, didn't you? Laughed at that. That's
when this trial is brought to its end. We're going to see what
children we were. How we were ever dependent even
when we didn't know we were dependent. Even in those times we thought
we were self-sufficient. Ever dependent. Ever dependent. Art and I have been talking about
that, about how you come to these times where, you know, there's
times in your life where everything is removed from your hands to
where there's just nothing you can do to fix it. And you realize in those times
how utterly dependent you are. And it makes you realize, I'm
always that utterly dependent. I just don't always see it. Don't
always know it. This is what he said. Look back
there at James. James chapter 1. This is what James said. Verse
12. Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation. That's trial. He endures the
trial. That's what we're talking about.
To the end, Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for
when he's tried, when it's all done, he shall receive the crown
of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Now, so
in light of all that, should we value the trial? Should we rejoice even in tribulation? We should, shouldn't we? They're
needful for us. Very precious. The faith is precious. And the trial that tries and
proves our need, that's what proving is, proving our need,
our dependence on the Lord Himself. That's what faith is. That's
what it's proving to us. And it's proven to be genuine
faith. So what do we do then? Well, let's look at Just a couple
of scriptures and we'll be done. Hebrews 12, what do we do then? He said, let us lay aside, verse
1, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily
beset us and let us run with patience. There's that word,
steadfastness, endurance, with patience, the race that is set
before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
Him endured, He endured what He endured. He endured the cross,
despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Look down at verse 12. Wherefore
lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and
make straight paths for your feet. Where? after Christ, following Him.
Lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather
be healed. That's just one more way of what Peter said. Humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God. He may exalt you in due
time. You know what Jeremiah said in
Lamentations? There in Lamentations 3. He said,
let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. Let
us lift up our heart with our hands. It's not just an outward
thing, it's a heart matter. Let us lift up our heart with
our hands unto God in the heavens. And let us be in subjection to
the Heavenly Father. This is what the psalmist wrote.
This is our spirit. I know Oh Lord, that thy judgments
are right and that thou in faithfulness has afflicted me. It's faithfulness. Paul said, we've been in subjection
to our fathers. Shall we not rather be in subjection
to the father of spirits and be saved? Sure. We know it's right. In faithfulness,
he's done it. As a faithful father, he's done
it. And here's the third thing. Let us rest in this assurance.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, many, but the Lord
deliver them out. The Lord delivereth him out of
them all. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Truth about
trials. That's some reason to rejoice
in them, isn't it? Amen.