The Trial of Your Faith

Q: What does the Bible say about being elect?

The Bible teaches that believers are elected according to the foreknowledge of God, emphasizing His sovereign choice. In 1 Peter 1:2, the Apostle Peter addresses the believers as 'the elect'. This term signifies that these individuals were chosen by God according to His foreknowledge. It implies that God's decision to elect is rooted in His sovereign will rather than in any foreseen merit or action on our part. Romans 8:29-30 also reaffirms this doctrine, indicating that those whom God foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. This establishes the foundation of our faith and security in Christ, knowing that our election rests solely on God's grace and mercy, not our own efforts.

Q: How do we know our salvation is secure?

Our salvation is secure because we are kept by the power of God through faith until the very end. 1 Peter 1:5 states that believers are 'kept by the power of God through faith'. This means that our salvation isn't dependent on our own efforts or ability to remain faithful, but rather on God's sovereign power to preserve us. Ephesians 2:8-9 supports this by affirming that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of works, ensuring that none may boast. The assurance of our salvation is grounded in God's faithfulness and His promise to keep us until the day of redemption, making it impossible for us to lose what He has secured for us.

Q: Why is mercy important for Christians?

Mercy is essential for Christians as it is the foundation of our salvation and relationship with God. In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter exhorts believers to bless God for His 'abundant mercy', which highlights the crucial role mercy plays in salvation. Without God's mercy, we would remain in our sin and face judgment. It is through His mercy that we are spiritually reborn and given new life. Mercy allows us to experience God's grace, enabling us to approach Him confidently, broken but hopeful. Mercy reflects God's character, showing His love and compassion towards sinners, and calls us to extend this mercy to others as well, underlining the relational aspect of our faith.

Q: What does it mean to have a living hope?

A living hope is the assurance we have in Christ's resurrection, guaranteeing our future inheritance. In 1 Peter 1:3-4, Peter describes our hope as 'a living hope' established by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This hope is alive because it is anchored in the reality of Christ's victory over death, giving us confidence in the promises of God. It reassures us of our future inheritance — an incorruptible and undefiled treasure reserved in heaven. This living hope encourages believers to endure trials because it is rooted in the unchanging nature of God's promises, which remain steadfast despite any earthly circumstances we face. It empowers and sustains us as we journey through life as sojourners in a fallen world.

Q: How do trials affect our faith?

Trials refine our faith, proving its genuineness and strengthening our reliance on God. According to 1 Peter 1:6-7, trials are fundamental in the life of a believer as they reveal and test the authenticity of our faith. Just as gold is tested by fire, our faith is refined through various trials, which serve to purge out impurities and strengthen it. James 1:2-3 encourages believers to consider it joy when facing trials, recognizing that these challenges develop perseverance and deeper faith. Trials can deepen our relationship with God, humbling us and fostering a greater dependence on His grace, thereby making our faith more precious in His sight and preparing us for the ultimate praise and glory at Christ's return.

Well, let's look back now at
1 Peter chapter 1. Now, this message is a message in three parts, a message in three parts, each
part of great importance. In verse 1, the apostle Peter
identifies himself and the people to whom he's writing. These are,
as I said a few weeks ago, family words. Peter, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, I'm writing to the strangers. He's writing to the people of
God, believers, and he calls them strangers. Now these immediate people here,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, were the people, the believers, that were scattered
into these foreign lands and places because they had been
driven from their homes and driven from their lands by persecution,
persecution for the gospel. And those were the strangers
there. They were scattered throughout all the different countries and
lands because of hatred and persecution for the gospel's sake. But actually,
actually, and you have experienced this and I have experienced this
and even our children experienced this, all believers are strangers
in this world. We're strangers. We're pilgrims.
We're sojourners. We're living in an unfriendly
world. If you are a believer in the
Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of God's grace, you're living
in a world that does not know your God and does not love his
gospel. And they don't know you. And they don't love you. Our
Lord said, if you were of the world, the world would love its
own. But ye are not of the world, I have called you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you. And marvel not, my brethren,
if the world hateth you." They hated me before they hated you.
So if you're a believer, if you love this gospel of God's redeeming
grace, you may be a stranger even in your own home. You may be a stranger even in
your own family circle. Go to a family reunion sometime
and bring up the things you believe, and you'll find out you're a
stranger. You're not only a stranger, you're an alien, despised and
rejected. That's right, a stranger. A stranger
in your own home, a stranger in your own family circle, a
stranger where you A stranger. That's what he's saying here.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, writing, you're not strange, you're strange
to them. What you believe is strange.
This is, that's what they said of Paul, this is strange doctrine.
What you're saying is strange. It's not what we believe. So,
you may as well face it, you're a stranger, you're a pilgrim,
you're a sojourner. in a foreign land if you believe
the gospel. That's right. And then secondly,
in verse 2, these people to whom the apostle is writing, he calls
them the elect. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
one of the twelve, an apostle. There are no apostles
today. These men were special men. An
apostle had to have seen the Lord, had to have received his
gospel by direct revelation from God, not from anyone else. And
Peter is an apostle. And these men spake with authority. They were divinely inspired. The word of an apostle is the
word of God. Christ said, he that heareth
you, heareth me. That's true. And he's writing
to the strangers, and he calls them elect. Elect. Now, to me, that's a thrilling
word. To me, that's a blessed word.
The elect. He shall send his angels to gather
his elect. He said in the last days, false
Christ and false prophets shall arise and deceive many, except
those days be shortened. If it were possible, even the
elect would be deceived. But for the elect's sake, the
elect, those days shall be shortened. Mine elect, whom I have chosen. Mine elect. Sons, we are through
God's election, who in Jesus Christ believe, by eternal destination,
sovereign mercy we have received. Pause, my soul, adore and wonder,
why, O Lord, why such love to me? Grace hath put me in that
glorious number of the Savior's family. I'm one of the elect. I know to some people that word
is a distasteful word, but to those who understand the glory
of it and the joy of it and the thrill of it and the beauty of
it, it's a great word. Mind-elect. Mind-elect. Mind-elect. What's the cause
of our election? Well, verse 2, he says, we are
elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. We didn't
know Him, He knew us. We were elect according to His
foreordination. And what God ordains, God knows. What God knows, He ordains. We
didn't know Him. No man knoweth the Father save
the Son, He to whom the Son will reveal Him. He knew us. He said,
I know my sheep. I know my sheep. Other sheep
I have which are not of this foe, them also I must bring.
We didn't love him, he loved us. The reason for his divine
favor was not in us, but in him. T'was with an everlasting love
that God his own elect embraced before he made the worlds above
or gave the sun a place. elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. That's the cause of our election. Now, what's the means to carry
out that design of election? Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit. It's the Holy
Spirit who finds us, and the Holy Spirit who quickens us,
and the Holy Spirit who regenerates us, and the Holy Spirit who calls
us, and the Holy Spirit who sets us apart, and the Holy Spirit
who sanctifies us. sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Unto, what's the results of this election? The cause of it is
the foreknowledge of God. The means of it is the sanctification
of the Spirit, and the goal of it is unto obedience. Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctification,
regeneration of the Holy Spirit unto obedience. unto faith, not
only unto obedience and faith, but unto the sprinkling, cleansing
of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. The Father chose us, elected
us, gave us to the Son, loved us with an everlasting love.
The Son redeemed us and cleansed us and set us free, and the Holy Spirit
set us apart and brought the gospel to us and called us to
faith. All right, here's the second
part of this message, beginning with verse 3. And here the Apostle
Peter breaks forth in a five-fold psalm of praise. A five-fold
psalm of praise. He said, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy." Mercy. Bless God for his mercy. You see, this is where salvation
begins and this is where salvation ends. It's mercy. This is the
sum and substance of all salvation. It's mercy. No other attribute
of God could help me if mercy. did not intervene. Mercy. Call the Apostle Paul, the great
writer of fourteen epistles, founder of churches, apostle
of Jesus Christ, and ask the Apostle Paul, what is your plea? What is your hope? What is your
foundation? And he said, I obtained mercy. Mercy. Bless God for His mercy. Abundant. Here's what he says,
abundant mercy. Overflowing. Where sin did abound,
grace did more overflow. Plenteous in mercy. Abounding
mercy. Abundant mercy. Sufficient mercy. Bless God for His mercy. Mercy
to sinners. And then notice the second thing
here. According to his abundant mercy, he hath begotten us again. He hath begotten us. Praise God, bless God, not only
for his mercy, bless God for the new birth. Bless God for
the new birth. A lot of people are talking about
the new birth. A lot of people are talking today
about being born again. People who know nothing at all
about what it means to be born again. Now listen carefully. You had
no more to do with your second birth than you had to do with
your first birth. You had no more to do with your
second birth than you did your first birth. Bless God for His mercy. and
bless God that he hath begotten us, he hath given us life. We've been born again by his
hand. Your first birth, you had absolutely
nothing to do with it, absolutely nothing. What you are is a result of what
was done by someone else. And that's true of your second
birth. And I know, I know preachers, I know they're more confused
about this than anybody, but they tell you to go to church
and hear the gospel and you'll be born again. You won't hear
the gospel till you're born again. They tell you to go and hear
the gospel and believe and you'll be born again. You're not born
again because you believe, you believe because you're born again. That's right. They tell you to go and love
God and he'll give you new life. You're not born again because
you love God, you love God because you're born again. I'm telling
you the truth. We are elect according to the
foreknowledge of God through the sanctification, the regeneration,
the quickening power of the Holy Spirit unto obedience. Quicken unto obedience. Obedience
didn't quicken us. Obedience didn't sanctify us.
We are sanctified unto obedience. through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. Let me show you that in 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. Listen. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse
13. But, 2 Thessalonians 2, verse
13, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through Sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. Sanctification of the spirit
comes before belief of the truth. He that loveth is born of God. He's not born of God because
he loves, he loves because he's born of God. In John chapter
1 it said, to as many as received him. To as many as received Christ,
believed on Christ. To them gave he the right to
become sons of God, privileged to become sons of God, which
were born. They were born, not of blood,
not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, born
of God. And these, we've had some little
babies born into our church recently. They will hear, they will see,
they will walk, they will talk. But they're not born because
they see, they see because they're born. You see, they're not born because
they hear and walk, they hear and walk because they're born.
They have life, therefore that life, there's results of life. And you hath equipped them who
were dead, dead, dead, in trespasses and sin. I'm telling you the
truth. The new birth is of God. The new birth is by the power
of God, the new birth is by the Spirit of God, and the seed in
the new birth is the Word of God. Of his own will beget he
us through the Word of truth. Bless God. You see, you say the
world won't take that. I'm not preaching to the world. You say religionists won't have
it. Peter's not writing here to religionists. he's writing
to the elect. That's the people to whom he's
writing. He said, I'm Peter, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ,
and I'm writing to the strangers, people who've paid the price,
people who've been driven out, people who are faithful, people
who've gone out from their homes and lands, strangers, pilgrims,
sojourners, elect of God. And he says, bless God, all of
you, even in your sojourn, even in your pilgrimage, even in your
in your condition. Bless God for his mercy. And
bless God that he hath begotten us. He hath begotten us. Praise God he didn't pass me
by, leave me in my sin. He hath begotten us. Now look
at the next part of this Psalm of praise. Unto a living hope. Unto a living hope. I want to
read you something over here in Genesis 45. Would you turn
in your Bibles over there? Genesis 45. You boys and girls listen to
this. I think you'll like this. Old Jacob, in Genesis 45, Jacob was down
there in his land. There was a famine. A famine. They were starving. He sent his
sons down to Egypt. They sent corn in Egypt. Plenty
in Egypt. Everything in Egypt. He sent
his sons. He didn't go. He didn't go. He sent his sons, different ones.
Well, go down and see. He brought back some corn. And
finally they came back and they told him that Joseph was up there
in Egypt, and Joseph wanted him to come up there to Egypt. And
he didn't believe it, and he wouldn't go. He wouldn't go. Here in Genesis 45, verse 25. Read it with me, Genesis 45,
verse 25. And they went up out of Egypt, these boys did, and
they came to the land of Canaan under Jacob their father. And
they told him, saying, Joseph is alive, and he's governor of
all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted. He
didn't believe them. He didn't believe them. And they
told him all the words of Joseph, which he said unto them. And
when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him,
the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Joseph sent all these
blessings, wagons loaded with beautiful things and food and
all this. And I just imagine these boys
came in and old Jacob was sitting there in his little old house
and they said, Father Jake, Joseph is alive. Oh boys, don't tell
me that. Don't tell me that. He wants
you to come to Egypt. I'm not going to Egypt. I'm just
going to die right here. I'm not going to Egypt. Father
Joseph is alive, and he's governor. He reigns. I don't believe you. Let's show you. Come out here."
And they took him outside the house, and there parked in front
of the house was chariots and horses and wagons and corn and
barley and wheat and precious gifts, and the old man's spirit
revived. And Jacob said, Israel said,
it's enough. Jacob, Joseph, my son, is alive. I'll go and see him before I
die. What in the world? This old man
sitting there in his poverty, but it was his home, it's what
he's used to, and he didn't believe all these things they said. What
was it that changed his mind and made him willing, made him
willing to leave here and all that he'd been used to and comfortable
with and satisfied with and be willing to go to a place he had
never been. Joseph was alive and on the throne. And I'll tell you this, that's
what this living hope is. Our hope is a living hope because
our Lord has died, has risen again, is alive, and is at God's
right hand. And if you and I can be convinced,
you know, we sit here in our little comfortable places and
spots and what we're used to, it's not much but it's something,
whatever, our poverty and famine And people talk about the glories
of heaven and the beauties of heaven and the plenty of heaven
and the joy of heaven and the riches of heaven. How are you
going to ever persuade one of us to be willing to leave here
and go where we've never been? There ain't no way. Except one. If I can be convinced that he
who loves me He who is mine, my Joseph, is now king and reigns
in glory. I'll be willing to go where he
is." You see what I'm saying? I'll be willing to go where he
is. That's what changed the old man's mind. But he came out here
and saw the wagons. He saw the wagons. Where are
our wagons? These precious promises, abundant
promises right here. Thank God for that living hope.
Joseph is alive, and he's governor. And when we find that out, our
Lord is alive and he reigns, and we'll be willing to go. All
right, what's this here? And he, verse 4, He hath begotten us unto a living
hope by the resurrection of Joseph, our Jesus, from the dead, to
an inheritance incorruptible." Bless God for an incorruptible
inheritance. Everything here is decaying and
dying and perishing. The songwriter says, "...swift
to its close, ebbs out life's little day, earth's joys grow
dim. beauties fade away, change and
decay, and all around me I see, O thou that changest not." And
that's my inheritance. It's undefiled, it's incorruptible,
that is, it's not tainted by sin, it's undefiled, hasn't been
touched by iniquity, it fades not away, it's eternal, and it's
reserved in heaven. Our names are on the table. I've
got a nameplate. Our names are on the table. You
believe that? Well, I tell you, you can if
you get hold of God's purpose. There's no way that you can believe
in an inheritance purchased and reserved for you, for you, unless
you can come back to this thing and say, God elected me. God
chose me. There's no way that you can make
this a time situation. Tell me when a person walks down
the aisle and makes a profession, God writes his name in the Lamb's
Book of Life. There's no way I can have any
confidence in any transaction like that. That's a changing
God. That's a changing scene. That's
a changing kingdom. That's a kingdom that is altered.
altered by whatever men do. And this kingdom is not altered,
it's incorruptible, undefiled, it's fated not, and it's reserved,
it's reserved ahead of time. It's reserved ahead of time,
reserved in heaven for you. Now watch this full assurance,
who are kept by the power of God. chosen by the power of God,
redeemed by the power of God, made alive by the power of God,
begotten by the power of God, and kept by the power of God. Not only is this inheritance
kept for me, but I'm kept for it. This is awfully important here. Not only is it kept for me. Somebody said one time, I know
the glory of God is sure. I know heaven is sure. I know
those dwelling places are sure. I know the Lord Jesus is sure.
He's there. I know the rest and the beauty
and the glow is there. But will I be there? That's a
good question. It's a good question. I tell
you, and if it's left to me, I won't be. There's somewhere
down the line I'll falter and fail and stumble and perish. But he who ordained the inheritance
and kept the inheritance will keep me for the inheritance.
That's what he's saying here. We're kept. We're kept. How? By the power of God. Now
unto him that's able to keep you from falling and to present
you faultless before his throne with exceeding joy and glory. To him, the only wise God our
Savior, be glory. and dominion both now and forever.
And he keeps us, not without faith, he keeps us through faith,
through faith, under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Now, here's the third part of this message. And all of this for the same
people. Peter, God's apostle, and I'm
writing to the elect. I'm writing to the strangers.
I'm writing to God's chosen. Bless God for His mercy. Bless God that He's given us
new life. Bless God that He's given us
a living hope. Bless God that He'll keep us,
that He's given us an inheritance kept. And bless God He'll keep
us for that inheritance. Do you believe that? All right,
this is true too. Verse 6. Wherein you greatly
rejoice. Do you rejoice in that? Do you
rejoice in God our Savior? I don't rejoice in an experience
I had one time. I don't rejoice in a great denomination. I rejoice in the grace of God.
I rejoice in the elective grace of God. I rejoice in the blood
and righteousness of Christ. I rejoice in the Spirit's regeneration. I rejoice in that living hope
and resurrection. Though now for a season, if need
be, for a little while, thank God it's a season. What do seasons
do? Well, they come and go. If need
be, you're in heaven through various temptations. Now the word temptation here
is not our proneness to sin, which is a problem in itself,
but that's not what he's talking about. If need be, you are in
heaviness through various trials and troubles, trials and troubles,
that the trial of your faith, that the trial of your faith. Turn back to the book of James
a moment, the trial of your faith. Faith's going to be tried. Faith
is going to be tried. In James 1, verse 2, listen,
my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into different
trials, various trials, knowing this, that the trying of your
faith. Work it patiently. Faith's going
to be tried. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. Through faith, not apart from
faith, not without faith, through faith. And that faith is going
to be tried. It's going to be tried. There is no believer on
this earth without trials. And these trials come in different
ways at different times. And I don't need to name these
trials. There's the chastening of the
Lord, there's the discipline of the Lord, There's the work
of God where his workmanship, all of you are acquainted with
trials in some form or other, and some of you are going through
those trials right now. But God has a reason for every
trial. Read verse 7, that the trial
of your faith being much more precious than of gold, that is,
your faith is more precious than gold that perishes, though it
be tried with fire. that that faith might be found
under the praise and glory of God at the appearing of Jesus
Christ. Now, let me give you several
things before I close in regard to trial. Number one, all trials
in a believer's life, regardless of what they are, are from the
hand of God. There's no accidents in a believer's
life. Whatever the trial, It's for
God's glory and our good if we're his children. Now that's so,
whatever the trial may be. Secondly, trials reveal the genuineness
of faith. When Abraham was willing to offer
his son on that mountain, and God stayed his hand, God said
this to him, Now I know that you love me. Well, God knew all
along that Abraham loved him. But I believe what God is saying
to Abraham is, now you know you love me. Now it's evident that
you love me. Now it's proven that you love
me. Now your claim to love me is
justified. Is that not what he's saying?
Now your claim to faith. How can we claim that which has
never been tested? You say your windows will withstand
certain winds. How do you know that? You put
the wind to it. You say a boat you built will
float in the river. How do you know that? Put it
out there and see. That's what I'm saying. Trials prove the
genuineness of faith. Thirdly, and trials, now listen
to this, trials purge and purify faith. Our faith, even our faith,
needs to be purified. You know, one old writer said
this one time, he said, even my repentance needs to be repented
of. Even my faith needs to be washed
in the blood of Christ. Even my faith. Because faith
must be purged of pride. Faith's got to be purged of hypocrisy. Faith has got to be purged of
self. Faith has got to be purged of
our own righteousness. Faith has got to be purged and
put to the fire until only Christ is left. I don't know how to
explain that. I just know it's so. Only Christ
is left. We've got to lose confidence
in our heritage. We've got to lose confidence
in our profession. We've got to lose confidence
in our decision. We've got to lose confidence
in our knowledge. We've got to lose confidence
in our morality. We've got to lose confidence
in what we have or haven't done. Faith has got to be so tried
and so purged that there's nothing left of faith, in faith, but
Jesus Christ. Bob, is that clear what I'm trying
to say? Trials do that. We think we're somebody, and
God shows us we're nobody. We think we've knocked the home
run, and God shows us we didn't. We're struck out. We think we are able to handle
certain situations, and God shows us we can't. Trials do that. We say, well, we've won the victory,
and we find out we weren't even in the fight. He's got to do
that. He's got to shut our mouths,
strip us, shut us up, To Christ only. And that's what trials
do. The trying of your faith. Gold. What do we put gold in the fire
for? To purge it of the dross. You take a gold ring and it's,
God will only accept purity. And people who collect real gold
won't take gold that's defiled. Keep on burning it, keep on burning
it, keep on burning it until it's fit for the King. And that's
what he's going to do to this faith of ours. He's going to
keep on burning it, burning it, burning it until it's fit for
the King. And it will be a trophy of his grace. Fourthly, trials
will strengthen faith. Trials won't produce faith. Trials
reveal faith and they strengthen faith. The more my faith is tried,
the stronger it'll be. That's right. The more it's tried,
the stronger it'll be. And then in the next place, trials
reveal the value of faith to me. David says, good for me,
I've been afflicted. And I need to be weaned from
this world. I need to be weaned. If in this
life only I have hope and faith, I'm miserable. And what God does
through trial is get us to hold a little more loosely to these
things by taking them away, taking them away, keep on until... You see, there's no value in
anything here. There's nothing really that gives
any lasting happiness here in this world. The more we see that,
the more our faith is, we see the value of faith. Christ is
all. In the next place, trials also
enable me to see how frail I am. David prayed that, Lord make
me to know how frail I am. And the more I realize how frail
I am, the more I'll believe, the more I'll depend on Him. And then in the next place, trials
enable me to sympathize with and comfort others who have tried.
Boy, I'm telling you, there's nobody that can put his arm around
you and speak a word of comfort like the fellow that's been where
you are. There's nobody. There's nobody that can enter
into your conflict like the man that just came out of it. There's
nobody that can enter into your pain like the man who has pain. There's nobody that can enter
into your Agony like the one that's agonized. You see, trials
enable me to sympathize, to forgive, to comfort, to pity, to enter
into the difficulties of others who have tried. I can't be a
blessing to you unless I weep with those that weep and understand
their misery Hardships, that's right. And then in the next place,
trials magnify the grace of God to me. I like what Steve was praying
a while ago, how amazing this is, amazing! Considering who
we are and what we are and what we've done, that God should love
us. I tell you, grace is not amazing, it's not grace. Amazing
grace! How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. And trials, I tell you, the more
that I go through the valley, the more I look to the hills,
the more I look to Him. Be glad for His grace. Trials
are good for me. And then in the next place, faith
that survives the trials. Now here it is, faith that really
survives. And I've got a lot of friends
that hadn't survived. They couldn't take it. Like old
John said, if they'd been of us, they no doubt would have
continued with us. But they couldn't take it. And these are called
various trials. Isn't that what, in that international,
various trials? They're diverse and different
and various. There are many. I know that manifold,
when we think of manifold, we think of abundance. It may not
take but one good one. It may not take but one good.
There are various trials. And it may be poverty or plenty.
That's God's discretion. You say, oh, I'm sick, I'm under
trials. Health may be a trial. Poverty or plenty. You say, oh,
I'm a failure, I'm tried by God. He may be trying you by making
you successful. Don't hem God up in the corner
now. That's right. It's mysterious, this dealing
of God with people. He may give you everything you
want. That may be the toughest trial
you've ever been through in your life. Everything you want. That may be the worst thing that
could take place. He said, I'm not under any trials
because everything's going my way. You missed her, boy. You
missed her. You're under a trial, and you
failed. You failed. You didn't give God the glory.
That's what old, what was it, Nebuchadnezzar said, Babylon,
I built it. Look at it, everybody. He failed. So it's various trials. We are
programmed to believe that things are trial only when it hurts,
and we've missed it. God will deal with us as he has
to deal with us, as he has to deal with us. And faith that
survives it, faith that survives it, looking to Christ, loving
Christ, believing Christ, resting in Christ, endures to the end,
continues, look at verse 7, last line, will be found under the
praise and the honor and the glory of Jesus Christ at his
appearance. When the Son of Man cometh, will
he find faith on the earth? He'll find some, God-given, tried,
proven, and come through the fire. And the end of faith is the salvation
of your soul. That's the end of faith. Lord, let me give you this and
I'll close. Lord, we lie before thy feet. Look on all our deep distress. Thy rich mercies may we meet. Clothe us with thy righteousness. and stretch forth your mighty
hand and hold me up, and I'll stand. Let me trust thee evermore, and
every moment on thee to call. For new life, new will, new power,
let me trust thee, Lord of all. Lord, increase, increase my faith. How's he going to do that? I
believe two ways, through the Word and through trial. And make
me faithful unto death. Alright, I hope that's a blessing
to you. Let's turn to 359. Number 359. looks up to Thee, Thy Lamb of
Calvary, Savior Divine, number 359. We'll stand while we sing.

The Trial of Your Faith

What does the Bible say about being elect?

How do we know our salvation is secure?

Why is mercy important for Christians?

What does it mean to have a living hope?

How do trials affect our faith?

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The Trial of Your Faith

What does the Bible say about being elect?

How do we know our salvation is secure?

Why is mercy important for Christians?

What does it mean to have a living hope?

How do trials affect our faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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