The Trial Test

James 1:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

 

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

God is more interested in your character than your comfort. 

1. Recognize what God is doing in your life. 

Satan is trying to ruin your potential.  

James 1:3 English Standard Version (ESV)

3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

2. Cooperate with God's growth process. 

James 1:4 New International Version (NIV)

4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

You determine the duration of your trial. 

3. Ask for God's viewpoint.  

James 1:5 New International Version (NIV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

4. Stay in faith and do not panic.  

James 1:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

James 1:12 New International Version (NIV)

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Faith and attitude are interchangeable.   

Temptation is really a test of your love for Jesus.  

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

The birth of sin

God is completely whole; therefore, Satan cannot attack His desires. 

When we become a friend of God that makes us an enemy of Satan, God tests our friendship to prove to us that we can stand, but Satan tempts us to fall.

Satan cannot destroy us without our consent. 

Sin is like a seduction. However, it is an inside job. It overflows out of our hearts. 

It's like a courtship that leads to consent. We are drawn away like a trapper or a fisherman uses bait. It begins with a flirtation. 

Satan lights the match on the gas of an unholy desire, but the sinner has to say I do. 

We are free to choose at the point of choice, but we cannot choose the outcome. 

The conception of the sin is a choice. The mother is an inward appetite. The father is an outward attraction.

It births a sin. Sin is designed to kill me. First it fascinates, then it assassinates. 

To obey or not to obey that is the question

God brings tests into our lives, and then waits for us to understand that we can't solve them. 

To be a conqueror, you must first be conquered by God. 

God will test our obedience. Orders don't have to make sense to us but to God. 

We are not ordered to understand, but to undertake. 

(Adrian Rodgers notes)

Surviving Life’s Worst Moments

(2 Corinthians 1:8-11) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. 

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. 

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Surviving Life’s Worst Moments 

The 6 Stages of Grief… 

1. Shock.

(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Sin broke the earth.  Therefore, God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to rescue us.  His purpose was to eternally rescue us from this place.   

When we are in shock, we can't believe what has happened. We become disoriented. During these times, we can't trust ourselves. 

It is not a sin to fall into shock, but it is bad to fall into it alone.  When life falls apart, don't run from God and other people but to them.  

2. Sorrow. 

(Isaiah 53:3) He (Jesus)was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 

Jesus too was a man of sorrows.  Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus.   But don't let sorrow take over your life. Jesus is the solid rock to build your life upon during sorrow.

(Psalm 61:1-2 NKJV) Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

I have a pre-planned worship mix for my unexpected times of sorrow.  When I worship, it changes everything. It changes my perspective.  

In the middle of sorrow, we must choose to worship. Don't trust your feelings in sorrow.  They will lie to you.  

3. Struggle. 

(Matthew 27:46) “(Jesus speaking) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Even Jesus felt trapped in His pain. When we doubt, we lose our perspective.  Dwelling on the problem can lead to suicide.  Every time you relive it.  It comes back worse. 

(Hebrews 11:35-40) There were others who were tortured… persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. 

They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

If you know how it will end, it relieves the tension.  There are those who feel like things didn't work out for them.  Things don't always work out.  

When life on earth falls apart, we must focus on our eternal life which is to come.  In the light of eternity, this life is but a moment.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus.   

4. Surrender. 

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

We may never fully understand it.  This life cannot be done alone.  Only with God's help can we do it.  Trust is relying upon the reliability of someone else. We must trust on our God who is fully reliable.    

5. Sanctification. 

(Romans 5:3-4 MSG) We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. 

God uses our loss to teach us a lesson.  God doesn't do it to us, but He can use it if we'll let Him.  

(1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. 

It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 

So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

God uses our pain to develop our character.  God will choose our character over our comfort any day. 

We as parents do the same thing when we discipline our kids for their future.  

Our pain is either a jail that imprisons us, or a school that shapes us.  

6. Service. 

(2 Corinthians 1:3-7) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

God wants our test to become our testimony.  He wants our mess to become our message.  God wants to use it to reach another person's life.  In your pain, don't let your feelings run the show.

We can't control what happens to us, but with God's help, we can choose our response. 

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands. 

(All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted).

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/surviving-lifes-worst-moments

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands, pain, shock, struggles, tests, trials, 

(2 Corinthians 1:8-11) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. 

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. 

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Surviving Life’s Worst Moments 

The 6 Stages of Grief… 

1. Shock.

(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Sin broke the earth.  Therefore, God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to rescue us.  His purpose was to eternally rescue us from this place.   

When we are in shock, we can't believe what has happened. We become disoriented. During these times, we can't trust ourselves. 

It is not a sin to fall into shock, but it is bad to fall into it alone.  When life falls apart, don't run from God and other people but to them.  

2. Sorrow. 

(Isaiah 53:3) He (Jesus)was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 

Jesus too was a man of sorrows.  Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus.   But don't let sorrow take over your life. Jesus is the solid rock to build your life upon during sorrow.

(Psalm 61:1-2 NKJV) Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

I have a pre-planned worship mix for my unexpected times of sorrow.  When I worship, it changes everything. It changes my perspective.  

In the middle of sorrow, we must choose to worship. Don't trust your feelings in sorrow.  They will lie to you.  

3. Struggle. 

(Matthew 27:46) “(Jesus speaking) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Even Jesus felt trapped in His pain. When we doubt, we lose our perspective.  Dwelling on the problem can lead to suicide.  Every time you relive it.  It comes back worse. 

(Hebrews 11:35-40) There were others who were tortured… persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. 

They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

If you know how it will end, it relieves the tension.  There are those who feel like things didn't work out for them.  Things don't always work out.  

When life on earth falls apart, we must focus on our eternal life which is to come.  In the light of eternity, this life is but a moment.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus.   

4. Surrender. 

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

We may never fully understand it.  This life cannot be done alone.  Only with God's help can we do it.  Trust is relying upon the reliability of someone else. We must trust on our God who is fully reliable.    

5. Sanctification. 

(Romans 5:3-4 MSG) We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. 

God uses our loss to teach us a lesson.  God doesn't do it to us, but He can use it if we'll let Him.  

(1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. 

It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 

So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

God uses our pain to develop our character.  God will choose our character over our comfort any day. 

We as parents do the same thing when we discipline our kids for their future.  

Our pain is either a jail that imprisons us, or a school that shapes us.  

6. Service. 

(2 Corinthians 1:3-7) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

God wants our test to become our testimony.  He wants our mess to become our message.  God wants to use it to reach another person's life.  In your pain, don't let your feelings run the show.

We can't control what happens to us, but with God's help, we can choose our response. 

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands. 

(All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted).

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/surviving-lifes-worst-moments

When God doesn't make sense

We can’t make the life around us behave.  

Don’t allow what you think that you want to get into the way of who God wants for you to be.  

Don’t ask God to do something that will violate His nature.    

God likes to put us into situations that we can’t handle.  

To hear God's voice, you have to turn down the world's volume.  

We reject the answers that we pray for because of the packaging.  It's because we don't understand it.  

Faith is not in an instant.  There will be parts that we don’t understand.  

God doesn’t think like us.  God is focused on the process that is going on in us during the process.  God is a process person.  He loves the process.  If you don’t cooperate, you extend the process.   

If you understand the why, it helps you to understand your way. Most of the time, we try to understand God, but we can’t, so we must trust.  

The secret of patience is doing something of value in the meantime.  Patience isn’t the ability to wait, but how you act when you wait.   

God has a much better plan than you have for yourself.  

Miracles happen when our willingness to trust God intersects with the will of God.  God has blessings for us on the other side of obedience.  

Allow God to work outside your knowledge.  If you have to understand first what God is doing, you have reduced God to the size of your brain.  

Life is a test because God is watching.  God is watching how we respond to life’s tests.  God watches the obscure things that we do.  God tests us with the details.   

God’s Word will guide you to what God’s best is for you. 

Excerpts from Church of the Highlands Notes.