You will always have challenges in your life.
God won't give you a life that makes Him irrelevant.
What do you do when you don't know how this trial arrived?
James 1:2-4 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Without trials of many kinds, I can't be mature and complete. We struggle because we don't understand the principle of maturity.
God specializes in crock pot maturity.
James 1:2-4 The Message (MSG)
2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.
You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
A trial is a selfie of who you really are. God is interested in the real you. God uses the trial to train you. Are you not who you thought you were?
A faith that can't be tested can't be trusted. Can God trust you with trouble? God uses pain to discipline you to make you a disciple. Everybody makes a decision whether you're going to give up or go all in.
At some point you have to go all in, or you have to give up. I can make it through anything if I can find purpose in my pain. God uses it to draw you all in.
What is that underlining thing that you're life is built upon? You have to find your why or the who and the what won't matter.
You need to find the reason that you do what you do.
80% of believers don't know what their purpose is. No wonder we're not reaching the world. If you lose your why, you lose your way.
Matthew 13:44-46 (CSB)
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied.
Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.
Salvation is free, but the purpose of your life will cost you something. My purpose is to live for the glory of God, and expand His kingdom.
Luke 24:21 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
21 (Two of Jesus's disciples talking to Jesus after His resurrection. They didn't recognize Him.)
But we were hoping that he (Jesus) was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.
What you talk about determine your direction. When did you go back home and left your dreams behind? What made you quit? Jesus will find you after you've walked away.
Luke 24:33-35 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
33 That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together,
34 who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
35 Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Some of us quit in the promise. Jesus will reveal Himself in broken places. We are addicted to blessings, but we must go through brokenness.
Brokenness = embarrassment.
The problem is that we want multiplication without subtraction. For Bread to benefit anyone, it has to be broken. We need to embrace brokenness. What's causing you to reject this idea of brokenness?
Break the pride in you to discover your purpose. God will not despise a broken heart. God has called you to something greater than what you're going through.
Just do in the dark what you did in the light. God has a purpose for you on the other side of the pain.
Jesus, I'm broken and I need you. I'm giving to you the pieces. I'm giving to you my whole life. Be my Lord and Savior.
https://hopecity.com/sermons/trials-trophies-part-5/
No comments:
Post a Comment