Sermon Text: Hebrews 12:5-6, I Peter 1:6-8

Don't forget that we are going to lose some battles but we are going to win the war. We are going to win the war, but there are going to be battles that we will lose. Brother Markley said to me tonight "you know Preacher, this morning when you forgot there were two baptisms, I saw your humanity." If you think that's the only thing I have forgotten in life, Brother Mike, talk to my wife. We are all human beings. Don't forget that. Always remember you are what you are by the grace of God as a Christian.

We looked at that wonderful passage this morning in relationship to the sufficiency of God's grace. But we have to be honest and we have to say "Yes, there are trials and there are testings that come into the Christian's life." Now why does that happen? Remember that message I preached some time ago now, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Remember that message? Let's be honest and say "Bad things do happen to good people." We don't understand it but it does happen. So, we want to look into the Word of God tonight and I want to show you five simple principles that we're going to take a few moments for this evening.

Look first at Hebrews 12 and I want you to notice verses 5 and 6. We are sort of using these two verses as a springboard over to I Peter chapter 1 where we're really going to concentrate our thinking tonight.

(Hebrews 12:5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

That incidentally is a principle you will find in Proverbs 3. That is a biblical principle you will find in Proverbs chapter 3 verses 11-12, which he is quoting here. He goes on and says in verse number 6:

(Hebrews 12:6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Now turn to I Peter 1 starting in verse 6.

(I Peter 1:6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
(I Peter 1:7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(I Peter 1:8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

There is no doubt that to many people in the secular world today, suffering is a mystery. If you don't believe that, just watch TV news casts, documentaries, and programming that comes over the television stations that we have access to here in the Twin Cities as well as stations in other parts of our country. If you'll watch very closely, you'll find that often times they refer to it as sort of the "luck of the draw." You've all heard this, "they were in the wrong place at the wrong time." That's basically saying why something happened to an individual. They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On Friday night, there was a bank robbery out here in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities. A teller was taken as hostage and she was able to escape. If you talk to a lot of the people in the world today, they will say "she just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." See, it's the luck of the draw. That's why things like that happen.

If you consider the Spirit-filled child of God or the individual who is enlightened by the principles of the Word of God, they will say that is a wrong view. Because to the Spirit-filled, enlightened child of God, suffering, trial, or testing such as that is not a mystery. As a matter of fact, often times it is a ministry. God put you in that situation or circumstance to minister.

So, what I want us to do tonight as we spend these moments in the Word of God, is to consider why God permits trials and testings to come into the lives of His children who have by faith accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour. They understand they are going to lose some battles in life but they also understand that the war has been won, thank God, because of that personal relationship they have with their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

But why do these trials and testings come our way?

Although we have read Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5 and 6 tonight, I basically want to focus our attention on these three verses in I Peter chapter 1. But I did want you to notice that principle in Hebrews because sometimes that which we are experiencing is God trying to speak to our heart, it is God trying to correct us from a wrong path we are following or a wrong decision that we have made. You do have the chastening hand of the Lord that you must always remember when you talk about trials and testings. Tonight I want to focus our attention on verses 6, 7, and 8 in I Peter chapter 1.

Here is the first principle I want you to put down because whenever you consider trials or testings, always remember every Christian will experience periods of trial and testing. I don't care who you are. I have certainly experienced them in my life. You have experienced them in your life and it is not necessarily that you have done anything wrong. It could be because you are doing some things right. Am I doing something wrong? No, you're doing something right and it's just a trial, it's just a testing that everybody has in life. That's the way it's going to happen. You need to realize that.

What we see when we look into verses 6 and 7 is that personal experience confirms this very truth. Look at what verse 6 and 7 says. We not only have it confirmed through personal experience but we have the Word of God confirming it. Notice two words here in verse 6. Notice the word "heaviness" and notice also the word "temptation." Turn to James 1:14 and notice what this verse says.

(James 1:14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Now temptation, which is the word that is being used in I Peter 1:6 is a word in the Greek language used in two different manners. It first is used as a word which means a solicitation or an invitation to evil. If you would like some illustrations of that from the Bible you could take Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3 when the devil came and tempted them. The devil came and solicited them to do evil, to disobey God. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus goes into the wilderness and is tempted of the devil. See, He is being solicited to disobey God. The devil makes those three appearances seeking Him to violate principles of the Word of God that had been laid down. Notice how Jesus responds to the devil in that wilderness temptation. For every temptation the devil comes to Him with, He responds by quoting to him what? A Biblical principle from the Word of God found in the book of Deuteronomy. So consequently we have temptation being used in that sense as far as a solicitation or an invitation to evil.

We also have that same word, temptation, used to explain or to manifest a testing or a trial we are going through; a difficult circumstance. It is the same exact word and that is the way the word is being used here. If you want Biblical illustrations of that, you could go to Genesis 22:1 where you have Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice unto the Lord.

(Genesis 22:1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

Now let me ask you a question. Does God tempt anybody? No, God does not tempt. But does God test people? God certainly does test people. That's basically what we are talking about here. It is God testing. It is the same principle being taught in Luke 22 by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Passover supper. The institution of the Lord's supper we will observe here tonight.

(Luke 22:28) Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

... in other words, in my testings. Certainly the Lord Jesus Christ was being tested. So, the sense in which it is being used in I Peter 1:6 is simply a testing under trial. The opposite of that would be like that in Matthew 6 in the Lord's prayer. "And lead us not into temptation." That is the other side of it. Lead us not into evil. Lead us not into sin. What we are dealing with here is the testing that has come, not dealing with it in the sense of sin or solicitation or invitation to evil, but we're dealing with it here in the sense of a testing or a trial that comes our way.

So, when you read this verse of scripture in verse 6 you always must remember that truth or principle. Every Christian will experience periods of trial and testing. Don't ever forget that. It does not mean necessarily that you are a bad Christian. It does not necessarily mean that you are being chastened of the Lord. It is a trial or testing that is coming your way, directed and allowed by the sovereign God of the Holy Word of God, because nothing comes into the life of the child of God that does not first pass the throne of God. Always remember that. God has not abandoned you. God has not left you. He has promised never to leave you, amen. As a matter of fact, Jesus gave that great invitation in Matthew 11.

(Matthew 11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

But there are some stipulations there, aren't there.

(Matthew 11:29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; ...

There are some stipulations there that we have to be mindful of, that we need to be sensitive to. Always remember that first principle. I have spent a lot of time on that first principle because you have to start out right if you're going to finish right. Listen carefully and heed what the Word of God is saying this evening, because it will help you in relationship to this matter of trial and testing.

The second principle you always want to remember is that these periods of trials and testings come and they go. Notice I Peter 1:6.

(I Peter 1:6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, ...

What is he talking about there? Is he not talking about for a period of time? So, these testings will come for a period of time. Always remember that the periods of trials and testings come and they go. What Peter is saying here is that this is going to be for a period of time. It might be a physical situation that you are going through. Or it might be a financial situation that you are going through. It might be an employment situation you are going through. It might be a personal relationship that you are going through. But whatever you do, always remember that they only last for a period of time. We look at it and we really get spaced out. That's not the Biblical approach. Always remember that trials and testings are going to come to every child of God but they will come and go.

Put down the third principle, an important principle. You always want to remember what the Scripture is teaching in these three verses. The experiences and periods of trial and testing are purposeful. God doesn't just shoot from the hip. He has a plan. He knows what He is doing. If you look again, I think we can see in the Scripture, teaching that would indicate that very truth, that we are giving in that third principle. In my view, this is really the heart of the message. Make no mistake about it, there is going to be the ministry of suffering for the Christian. A lot of people don't like to hear that. And why don't they like to hear that? Because people don't like suffering. I don't like suffering. But there is that ministry of suffering. In other words, God gives us opportunity to prove our faith. This is not by accident. This is planned. Look at what verse 7 says.

(I Peter 1:7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Yet this trial of your faith is more precious than that. Why? Because it might be found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Peter here does not say, "if by chance." He does not say that. No, he says there is no such thing as chance in the life of the child of God. There is the sovereignty of God and God knows what He is doing. He's on the throne. My life's verse is Romans 8:28:

(Romans 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We can never leave that principle. All things work together for good.

On Friday I was talking to a former member of our church living now in Jacksonville. I was having a delightful conversation with him on the telephone when all of a sudden he said, "Can I put you on hold for a minute?" After about 35-45 seconds he came back on the phone and he said "I just got a phone call that Dr. Verl Ackerman and his wife have been involved in a very serious car accident out here on Interstate 95." They had just left Jacksonville on their way down to Hollywood. Dr. Ackerman is the retired senior pastor from First Baptist Church in West Hollywood and he was in the church in Jacksonville. Dr. Ackerman was going down to West Hollywood to take care of some business. As he and his wife had just left on Interstate 95, somehow an individual pulled out in front of them and Dr. Ackerman was not able to stop his automobile. Of course, the cars collided and at the time of this phone call, it was not known how serious the injuries were. I was asked to pray for Dr. Ackerman which I said I would certainly do. Dr. Ackerman and I received our doctor's degrees together years ago. It was in 1974 so that's 23 years ago. Of course, we see each other in the conference ministry around the country once in awhile. The last time I saw him was in the airport in Memphis, Tennessee. I asked him to call me back when he got a little more information to let me know how they were. So, we finished our phone conversation and I was out of the office for a little while on Friday afternoon. While I was gone, I received a call back and he left a message with my secretary and said to tell Preacher that Dr. and Mrs. Ackerman are perfectly fine. The car is totaled but they both walked away from the accident.

Now here is another illustration that shows what I am trying to teach here tonight. When I was in seminary, one of my fellow seminarians was taking his wife to work at Erlanger Hospital. She was a nurse and he was a seminarian. As he was taking her to Erlanger Hospital, about two miles from where they lived, an accident happened at an intersection that did $150 worth of damage to his car. But somehow when the two cars collided, his wife's door swung open on the passenger side. This was in the days when there were no seat belts. His wife fell out of the car and hit her head on the curbing there by the side walk and died two hours later at Erlanger Hospital with $150 worth of damage to the car. Now how can you explain, other than the sovereignty of a God who is on the throne and who is in control of a situation in which a pastor and his wife can be involved in an automobile accident that totals their automobile and they walk away and an accident that takes the life of a young seminarian's wife that does $150 worth of damage to the car?

See, it doesn't happen by chance, beloved! It simply does not happen by chance. It is so important and vital that we do not lose sight of this. Now, I well understand that this immediately raises the question, "What is the purpose of suffering, then, for the child of God? What is the purpose of God doing this to this young seminarian? What is His purpose?" All we can do is have conjecture; in other words, we can guess. We really don't know! I could say, "To prove the reality of our faith; to strengthen our faith." Now, I can see that working in Dr. Ackerman's life. His automobile totally damaged and destroyed and he and his wife walk away. But in the seminarian's life, when his wife was killed, you say "Well how does that strengthen our faith?" There are other possibilities; to discipline us, to educate us, to really show us what life is all about, to humble us. How about that? We are not as important or mighty as sometimes we think we are. But it is only conjecture! We could say to purify us, but nevertheless we see that God does do that. He simply does that because of His sovereignty. Don't lose sight of that, because these trials and these testings are always going to be purposeful. You cannot deny that on the basis of verse 7. It's absolutely clear in the Word of God.

Here is the fourth principle. The period of trials and testing will vary. We need to understand that the time of testing or these periods of trials and testings will come and go but understand that there will be a varying of the time. They will come and they will go, but the time will vary. Look at verse number 6.

(I Peter 1:6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

Notice the word manifold and the word temptations (or testings). I think what we have here is two words indicating that there is a diversity about them. Suffering can certainly affect us physically in the form of sickness or in the form of weakness. Testings can also manifest themselves in the domestic realm. But they are going to come and they are going to go. There will be a varying of time. We see a lot of that in the day and age we are living.

Some Christians are tested by poverty. Some Christians are tested by wealth. Don't ever forget that. Wealth creates in the mind the concept of power. Always remember that; power. So you say, "I'd like to be that individual who won that $30 million in the Wisconsin lottery last night." They had a winner in the lottery last night. You know, how to go broke in one easy lesson. It is absolutely incredible to see how people are being duped into poverty through the gambling that is being allowed in our nation on the basis of furthering the educational system of the United States of America. It is the greatest lie, I believe, perpetrated in the 20th century. But that's another message. But some are tested by wealth. It is not easy to be wealthy.

I know some very wealthy men. We have had some very wealthy men speak here in our church. How many would remember Dr. Russell Anderson? He is a multi-millionaire. I don't know how many condominiums he owns over in Hawaii. He buys and sells them and lives in them. He stays over there for six months and he stays over in Michigan now for six months. He is a very wealthy man. Dr. Russell Anderson taught me more about money in one weekend than I had known about money in my entire life as we sat and talked for hours when he was here as our guest some years ago. His statement was "It's frightening to see the temptations and the testings that are there when you are rich." He could speak to that because he grew up in the coal fields of Kentucky. He was not born into wealth and he was not adopted into wealth. He was placed into wealth by a sovereign God. But one of his admonitions was "You need to be careful because it can become a real trial and a real test." So you'll see that but always remember it will come and go and the time period will vary when you stop and think about it. They are always purposeful for the glory of God.

Let's look at the fifth principle because we have to close. As I look at verse 8 I see the victory over trials and testings being revealed. Here is the victory ...

(I Peter 1:8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Compare that, if you will please, with II Corinthians 4:16-18 and I think you'll see what we are driving at in that last statement. In the 4th chapter and verse 16 of the 2nd Corinthians, here is what Paul says under the inspiration of the Spirit of God:

(II Corinthians 4:16) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
(II Corinthians 4:17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
(II Corinthians 4:18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

What is he saying there? Very simply and very basic, he is saying one day we will look back and see the reason or reasons and we will thank God for them. Preacher, how am I going to look back on what I'm going through tonight and thank God? Just like he says. Because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done in your heart.

(I Peter 1:8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Listen, when trial and testing comes, the most important thing you can do in your life is get your eyes on the Lord. Get your eyes on God! Get yourself into the Word of God! That's where the victory is going to come from. That's where you are going to begin to see what we have given here tonight, that you are not unique. Every Christian experiences trials and testings. It's not something God is necessarily doing in your life to just make you miserable. No, it's a trial or it's a testing and those trials and testings will come and they'll go. They are purposeful. But the victory is in Jesus! That's the victory and that's why we sing "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world." Don't lose sight of a tremendous truth that God's given us in three verses of scripture in one chapter in one little epistle named I Peter chapter 1 verses 6-8.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

I well understand to relate and have an understanding of the message tonight, you have to know Jesus Christ as Saviour. If you are here tonight and you don't know Christ as Saviour, my dear friend that's the first order of business you need to take care of in your life and I would invite you even to do that tonight. Perhaps you are experiencing a trial or testing at this very time. Let me encourage you tonight to let the message help you through that trial. You are not unique. Remember that every Christian experiences trials and testings. They come and they go. They are purposeful. They are going to vary. But the victory is in Jesus. He hasn't lost His lordship yet and never will. Let's remember that as God's people.

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