Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the purpose of trials in the life of believers, explaining that they are divinely orchestrated by God to reveal the true state of our hearts and to strengthen our faith. He reassures that while trials may expose weaknesses, they also highlight areas of growth and dependence on God. The sermon encourages believers to view trials not as punishments but as opportunities for spiritual growth and self-discovery, reminding them that God is sovereign and in control, even amidst suffering. Beach also warns against the lies of the enemy, urging Christians to remain steadfast in faith and to trust in God's goodness during difficult times.

1 Peter chapter 5. Let's begin with verse number 1. Let's just read the whole context here. Let's understand that in Peter here, the apostle is writing to a group of believers who are undergoing suffering, something that you and I can relate to. And in chapter 4, the apostle just begins to, in verse number 12, chapter 4, the apostle begins by saying, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you. Now, the word try there is a word that suggests to be proven. If you have a piece of hay, a piece of hay, and you want to find out exactly what that hay is made of, you have to subject it to a particular kind of heat or some kind of a trial. We'll use a furnace or a heat or a fire in relation to a piece of hay. And what is that fire going to do? That fire is going to reveal or make manifest, make known exactly what sort of substance that hay is. In other words, when the hay is brought into the fire or a piece of straw is subject to the fire, that hay is consumed. So, in actuality, the fire is making known, is revealing what sort of substance that hay actually is. Believe it or not, beloved, the trials that we go through are intended by God. They are sovereignly orchestrated by God. God is overseeing all the trials and all the struggles and all the difficulties in the lives of those that know Him and love Him. All things indeed work together for good. But here's God's intent. In allowing us to be subject to diverse trials. Here's God's intent. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. Now, watch this. Watch this now. Think it not strange, beloved, concerning the fiery trial which is to try you or which is to reveal to you the true state and nature of your heart. That is why God allows trials to come. Now, we have to understand that God is a loving God. God is a merciful God. He has redeemed us. He has delivered us from wrath because of the person of Jesus Christ. But now that we are child of God, blood-washed, redeemed, spirit-filled, continuing to seek to be spirit-filled believers. God's intent. You see, the devil isn't in control. God is in control. The devil isn't the one running around doing what he wants, but God is sitting upon the throne and the devil is going as far as God permits him to go. If we believe anything contrary to that, we are believing the lie of the devil because he would want us to believe that he's greater than what he actually is. We don't minimize the power of the enemy. We don't go around like an ostrich with our head in the sand and suggest that he's not real. We acknowledge the validity of our enemy. We read in the scriptures where the Bible speaks of him, but we mustn't get the idea that the enemy is running around in a free way doing what he wants with no limits set upon him. Absolutely not. Don't ever believe it. Don't ever consider it. Don't ever let a man or a woman or a teaching or a book come to you and make you believe that the devil just does what he wants when he wants. No. He is not God. He is not Lord. He is not omnipresent. He's not omnipotent. God is God. God is eternal. God sits upon the circles of the earth. God is the one who allows kings to reign. God is the one who promotes. God is the one who demotes. Know how the devil would want us to disbelieve and distrust that. And isn't it easy if you begin to look into the world and begin to see all of the world. The Bible says that the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one. And if you are not aware of the enemy's devices and if you are not allowing God to birth into you a hunger for the word of God, you'll begin to look at circumstances, you'll begin to look at rulers and kings, you'll begin to look at what congress is doing, what the lobbyists are doing, and you'll begin to say, God, are you as powerful as your word says? Or is there a real battle between you and the enemy? Does the enemy really have a chance? I mean, God, do you see what's going on? Ah, what a lie from the enemy. That's exactly what he would want you to believe. Listen, and if he can't get you to believe that regarding the world situation, he'll try and get you to believe it regarding your situation. Oh, so many times, and isn't this true now? So many times, children of God, we will acknowledge that God is reigning even though Russia is in communism, but now we know that it's breaking up. We'll look at circumstances in various parts of the world and we'll say, but God is in control. Then we'll look at him in our household and we'll question whether he's in control. So, what we want to understand this morning is God's intention, God's intention, God's purpose in the fiery trial that is trying you is to prove, it is to make manifest. Now, I would like for you just to keep your finger in 1 Peter chapter 4. We're going to be going through chapter 4 and chapter 5 this morning. If you have a pen, if you have a paper, take notes, remember this, study this through. We're going to give you several scriptures this morning, but before we do this, I want to bring your attention to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians and want to be able to show you the same concept here that we just went through regarding God trying us, God causing the true intents and motives of our heart to be made known. Now, when we talk about this subject of being tried by God, we ought not to always think of it in a negative way. The first thing that we think of when we consider God trying us or God allowing circumstances to come in our life in order to prove us and expose the motives of our heart, the first thing that we think of is always a negative connotation and that is, oh no, I'm going to be found to be unfaithful in this trial or I'm going to be found to have some lurking pride in my life as I go through this trial. Well, that maybe, maybe so. That maybe, maybe so. Well, that possibly may be, however, did you ever consider that God may entrust you with a trial in order to prove to you that you are abiding in Christ and that you have grown in Him so that you can go through the trial victoriously and not be defeated? Did you ever think that God may entrust to you a trial not in order to shame you and show you how you have to repent and trust Him more but may do it in order to encourage you and show you how you have grown and this trial didn't affect you the wrong way? So let's not think that God is in heaven wanting to constantly expose us and constantly show us the corruptness of our human heart. Now listen, God will do that and you will have to go through things in order that you might gain self-knowledge. That is, in order that you might become aware of things in your life that you do not know unless you go through the trial and that fire exposes the very intents of your heart. But when that happens, if you're a child of God, it's never intended, never intended to destroy you or to swallow you up in condemnation and judgment. Never. God is your Father. He has redeemed you and He is allowing this to happen so that you can get a grip on who you really are so that you can trust the grace of God and the Word of God and grow more and become more like Jesus. So God's intent is never to expose you in order to bring you into everlasting shame and destruction. If you are redeemed, a child of God, washed in the blood, trusting in Jesus Christ, believing in God, you are free from condemnation. You are free from damnation and you don't have to fear the wrath of God. We have been delivered from the wrath of God. So don't associate this message with a negative connotation exclusively. You will experience the time when you go through a trial and you will see your utter failure. But you will also be entrusted by God with trials that will show you you're abiding in Christ. And rather than disbelief and trust and anger and confusion that surfaces while the trial is going on, you'll find at times God will allow you to go through a trial because He foresees that what will surface will be what? Faith and trust and dependency upon God. And that will encourage you. So not only do trials reveal the areas in our life where we lack, but trials reveal the areas in our life where we have grown in grace and in knowledge of God. So be encouraged. Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Paul is talking to carnal Christians here. He's talking to men who are walking as carnal believers. They have little cliques. One says, I'm of Paul. The other says, I'm of Apollos. One says, I'm of Cephas. One says, I'm of Christ. And their personal preferences have brought division. And this is not good. And now Paul in verse number five, verse number five, puts it into proper perspective. Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth increase. Here Paul is setting the proper way to look at the different kinds of teachers and ministries in the body of Christ. One is not greater than the other. One is not more special than the other, but they are all given by God for the edification and the building up of the body of Christ. And we ought not to look at one in a way where we esteem it higher than another and suppose that God has a special interest in this one and less of an interest in this one. That is the way man thinks, but not the way God thinks. That brings division. So then verse seven, he that planteth, neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. We're all working together, co-laborers together with Christ. And every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building. Now listen to this. According to the grace of God, which is giving unto me, as a wise master builder, I've laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And the fire, listen, shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Now do not put this scripture exclusively into a future judgment, because it is not intended to be interpreted exclusively as something in the future. But right now, right now, what did we just read in 1 Peter? 1 Peter chapter 4, think it not strange concerning the what? The fiery trials. Now what does it say here in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 13? Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by what? By fire. So we see that there is a connection between the fire that reveals a man's works and the fiery trials that men and women must go through. All right? Now watch this. Because it shall be revealed by fire. Now the word revealed, this is a very interesting word. The word revealed means to make known what was previously hidden or concealed. The word revealed, which the fire is intended by God to do. The fire is intended to make known something that was previously hidden or concealed. The purpose? In order to reveal what sort it is. That means in order to make known what it's really made out of. What it's really made out of. So immediately, according to these scriptures, we can already begin to understand God's purpose in fiery trials. God's purpose in fiery trials is to reveal. It is to take the lid off. It's to take the jar off. It's to pull up the veneer. It is to make clear what was previously or what was before the fire was revealed, before the fire was applied, what was hidden. Okay? Now what is it that God's intending to reveal to us as Christians? There's two things God's intending to reveal to us. The areas in our life that we are yet depending in ourself for versus the areas in our life where we have learned to trust in God. And when we go through a fiery trial, the fire will always do its job. The fire will always do its job. The fire never is slack in its job. The fire always makes manifest. The fire always makes known. The fire always conceals what was hidden. How many have experienced something in your life that was hidden to your eyes and possibly to others, but the fire brought it out? Something negative. I say negative. I don't want to use the words, terms, something sinful. But then on the other hand, how many discovered that there was a strength in Christ that lurked in your life that you had no idea of until God entrusted you with a fiery trial and suddenly you found the sufficiency and the grace and the strength of God take control and bring triumph in your life. So you see the wisdom of God? You see the wisdom of God? Okay. The fire, the fiery trial, reveals, makes manifest what was previously concealed and hidden. The purpose is what? The purpose, first of all, what it is not. The purpose is not to destroy. The purpose is not in order to discourage you to the point of despair where you don't want to go on anymore because you possibly see an area in your life that is really out of sync with God's Word, possibly a terrible attitude. God might allow something to happen to you. Listen, God might allow someone to do you wrong in order to show you that there's hatred lurking in your heart or jealousy or anger. But now listen, when God does this, He doesn't do it in order for you to be swallowed up in guilt or condemnation. Okay, now here's, listen, this is so important that we understand this. This is where the devil comes in. Who is the one in control of the trials and tribulations in the Christian's life? The devil? No, no, no. Listen, I don't serve the devil. The devil is not ordering my life and he's not ordering your life. Put him in his right place. If you are a Christian, he is a defeated foe and Christ has overcome him and he is under your feet. Well, Brother Beach, I don't feel that sometimes. It doesn't matter what you feel. It doesn't matter what you feel. How many here have learned basic responsibility in life? You can raise your hand if you have. All right, here's what basic responsibility is. I get up in the morning, I don't feel like going to work, but I go anyway because life teaches me. I'm not even talking about being a Christian. Ungodly people have learned this lesson. People who don't even acknowledge God have learned life's lesson of responsibility and basically it says, if I don't go to work, I don't get paid. If I don't get paid, my bills don't get paid. If my bills don't get paid, I get letters from my creditors and if I get letters from my creditors and I throw them out, eventually I'm going to get a knock on the door and then we can just go on and on and on and then we might end up with a prison ministry. Well, glory, I hope you're as excited as I am this morning. We were saying the devil doesn't run your life. The devil is not the one deciding what trials and tribulations to send you. Let's get away from this humanistic, secularized conception that is in the world that is infiltrating Christianity. Christians doubt the sovereignty of God. Don't doubt the sovereignty of God. Beloved, you have been redeemed by the incorruptible Lamb of God, an eternal Jehovah God and His Son Jesus are reigning in the world right now and there's not one little thing going on that God is not looking at and saying, I'm gonna let it happen because I've got a plan. Put the devil to flight. The devil is not ruling and reigning in your tribulations. God is. But now listen, once the devil sees what God is allowing to happen in your life, he comes. See, the devil is... What did Jesus say in John chapter 10? He's a thief, a robber, and a murderer. Here's what the devil does. The devil looks, sees a tribulation or a trial that God is permitting and then comes to do one thing and one thing alone. He comes in order to use this trial and tribulation to lie against God. He uses what God intends for your good in order to turn you against God. Does the Bible say every good and perfect gift comes from above and comes down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of changing? Does the Bible say that when we as Christians are in the midst of fiery trials, we are to consider them to be good for us spiritually because God is working in our life for good? Is that what the Bible says? It certainly does say that. Now listen, here's what the devil does. He comes in right in the midst of a trial. What about the book of Job? What did he do? The trial that was intended for Job's good, the devil came and tried to get Job to curse God, tried to get Job to blame God, tried to get Job to question whether God really had his best interest at heart. God, on the other hand, now see, God rules over the trials in the life of His people. God always has an intention in whatever He allows to happen in our life. His intention is always to conform us more into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, listen now, by giving us self-knowledge. When I say self-knowledge, I am not talking about self-sufficiency. I'm talking about learning who we are, learning about ourself. That's what happens when you go through trials. You learn about the areas in your life that you need to really trust God in more versus the areas in your life where you possibly have been trusting God. But the devil comes and uses those very things to try and turn us against God, turn us against the Word of God, make us doubt, make us question. He is a liar. He is a thief. He is a robber. He slanders God continually. There's nothing but hatred, bitter hatred in his heart toward God. And if he could successfully get a Christian to begin to question and doubt the sovereign hand of his God and question the integrity of His Word, the devil laughs and rejoices because he knows that in doing so he's hurting the heart of God. He's hurting the heart of God. So let us continue here now once we understand the fiery trials as understood in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Go back to 1 Peter chapter 4. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. How many of us are constantly thinking that some strange thing has happened to us when we find ourselves compassed with trials? Some strange thing has happened. What does the Bible say? Think not that some strange thing has happened, but rejoice, oh my Lord. Brother, how in the world can I rejoice in the midst of fiery trials? Here's how. When you understand God's purpose in the trial, you can rejoice. See, if you believe the devil's lie and suppose that this is happening because God's out of control or this is happening because God really doesn't love you or this is happening because of some crazy reason that's not founded in the Word of God, then you can't rejoice. But when our hearts are finally settled, when our hearts are finally at rest, when we are convinced and convinced and convinced and persuaded like Abraham who against hope, believed in hope, was fully persuaded that God was able to do what he said, when God can cause our hearts to come into a posture where we are persuaded in the integrity and in the character of God and in the certainty of God's Word, then we can face every trial, every tribulation, every struggle, every difficulty that we go through with a spirit of rejoicing, a spirit of praise, knowing that my God is working for my good and I'm going to learn something about myself. It might be a sin, but praise God, I'll get down and receive forgiveness because God is a forgiving God. Or it might mean that I'm going to discover a strength in Christ that I have. Then I'll just say, thank God I am what I am by the grace of God. And no matter what happens, you can have the surety that God is working in your life. And that's the certainty that the devil doesn't want us to possess. Because when we possess that certainty, he loses his power over us while we're going through trials. And God alone then is able to work good in our life. Oh, how Paul said we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. Paul knew that he had a foe, that he had to fight with the power of God's word and the power of God's spirit. And he walked in the triumph of God's word. And he believed nothing but God's word. But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. Now, let's begin to make our transition. Let's go down into verse number, or chapter 5, verse number 1. Chapter 5, verse number 1. Now, Peter begins to exhort the elders in the church. The elders which are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight, not by constraint, that is by force. Don't force people to do what you want them to do. Don't try and control a person. Don't try and control people, beloved. Just bear with me this morning. Bear with me. Don't try and control people. Don't manipulate people. Don't take advantage of a person's emotions. Don't take advantage of their vulnerability. If you meet a lot of Christians who are naive, and it's not their fault, they're just naive. Don't abuse that and use that in order to use them for your own good and your own purpose. Husband and wives, don't do it. Relationships with children, don't do it. You know someone who has a servant's heart, don't make him your slave. How many can relate to what I'm saying? You work with people who have special gifts, don't try and get a monopoly on that gift and use it for your own good. Don't do that. Now this is an exhortation to preachers and leaders and elders in the church, but I tell you, it relates to the whole Christian world. Don't take advantage of people. Not by constraint, but willingly. Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Filthy lucre is rotten money. That's what filthy lucre is. In other words, Paul's saying, don't be in the work of the Lord because there is a hidden motive of personal gain in any way. Don't be in the work of the Lord because there's a hidden motive of personal gain. Now listen, personal gain does not only mean monetary gain, but there can be a motive of a personal gain. In other words, you might want to personally become important in the eyes of people. There's the personal gain of wanting to be esteemed highly by other people. So personal gain has many more connotations than just monetary increase. Don't be in it for that, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples of the flock. You know what Peter's saying here? Walk it, don't talk it. Walk it, don't talk it. Are you trying to teach your children not to argue? Well, I suggest they don't watch you argue. Because if they watch you argue and they watch you fight with your wife or your husband or with other adults, when you say to them, now don't you argue, you know what they're going to do? They might listen to you because they're afraid they might get a spanking, but in their heart they're going to turn around and you know what they're going to say? And I don't mean to be harsh hypocrites. That's what they're going to say. And their mind, their little minds are going to remember the 20 times in the past two weeks they watched you argue. And they're going to grow up and they're going to resent your commandment because you have talked it, but you didn't walk it. Now this is not intended to hurt, but it's intended to wake us up. Are you trying to teach anybody something? Then you better live it, live it. And if you do make a mistake, teach your children what it is to be humble. And if, listen, if I suggest if you parents have an argument in front of your children, you make up in front of your children. And you bring your children in front of you and you say, listen, mommy and daddy were wrong. And you saw us say things that we shouldn't have said. And daddy got mad and yelled. And mommy got mad and yelled. I want you to see something. We are sorry. We did wrong. If you don't do this, parents, you are setting a precedent in their life and they're going to grow up and do the same thing. They're going to grow up and do the same thing. Even though you tell them over and over again, do this and do that. If they see in your real life when you're right down home with your shoes off and you're on the couch and your hair's down, they see a rotten attitude in you, you could tell them all you want that you need to be good. And they're just going to in their heart say, oh yeah, we'll see. When I get to be an adult, I'll be like you. And they associate being adults as this. You could tell someone to do something, but you don't have to do it. That's what children end up thinking. And it starts, let me tell you something that starts at three years old, at four years old, don't think this is only going to happen when they turn 16. Kids are smart these days. They probably always were, but I don't know what they were like a hundred years ago. I'm not that old yet. But you know, sometimes I wonder, I got, I looked in a mirror this morning, just collect, trim my hair. And I look back here and I saw that, that there was two spots back here. I said, wow, I am going the way of all flesh, Bruce. I am losing my hair, praise God. But I'm not going to buy any hair treatment. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother my wife either. And that's all that counts. All right. So, peeing, don't pee, listen, don't, don't talk, don't talk it if you can't walk it. Listen, here's how, here's someone might be here saying, oh my God, I have blown it. My children are forever ruined because they have seen me do so many terrible things. I'm just going to give up. Now, listen, is that the devil? Yes, it is. Here's why it's the devil, because God is God. And He can even in spite of your actions, in spite of your consistent rotten testimony, He can still use it. He can still use it for your good. Now, here's how He can. Why don't you start by humbling yourself? Why don't you start by saying, I'm sorry, I blew it. Now, what's that going to do? That's going to do two things. That's going to show your children that you're not God. And they need to know that, that you are susceptible to failure. But here's what else it's going to do. It's going to teach your children that when they fail, which they will do, they should be humble. If you set an example of humility for your children, then whatever they do, they will know that they can humble themselves like mommy and daddy did and receive forgiveness and be restored back to right relationship with God. When Colette and I have a problem, and I'm not talking about some crazy thing where we fight with each other. When we have a verbal disagreement of some kind, and I sense that one of my daughters is watching us, I will immediately say, let's stop. And I'll, Christina, we were wrong. We have a word of prayer. We confess that we were wrong, that we had a disagreement, that we didn't handle it the right way. And we're teaching them now that, listen, as adults, you're not perfect. Mom and dad aren't perfect, but God doesn't expect us to be perfect. But here goes now, listen, he expects us to be humble. He doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he expects us to be humble. And if we are humble, then all of our imperfections will ultimately serve to draw us closer to God. If we get arrogant and proud, then the devil will get a foothold. So be humble, and you'll come through anything. But be proud, and you'll go right down to the dust. See? Verse four, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. See? Humility. Be humble. Be humble. Do you know what it means to be humble? Here it is. Children, listen. Children, listen. To be humble is when you make a mistake, tell the person you're sorry. That's what a humble person is. A proud person is someone who doesn't want to admit they were wrong. Be humble. Jesus comes real close to humble people. But you know what the Bible says? He draws away from proud people. You kids who go to school, have you noticed that children generally don't want to admit that they were wrong when they did something? That they want to be proud about it, and they want to say, no, no. You know what that is? That's a proud attitude. But here's a humble attitude. Say you're walking down the road and you bump into someone, like that. You know what you do? Instead of walking by and saying, watch where you're going, turkey, and you keep walking. You know what you do? You go up to them and say, I'm sorry, forgive me. You want to be cool, children? You want to be neat and cool? You want to be in? Be like Jesus. Don't be like the world. Don't be like the world. The world isn't going to give you anything that's going to help you, as far as your soul. Be humble, be sweet, be kind, be forgiving, be tender. You want to be a man? Learn to cry. Learn to say you're sorry. Learn to be tender to people. That's what a real man is. This idea of being a man, where you're tough, and you walk around like you're some kind of a God. Hey, I'm around. I want everyone to bow to me. I want everyone to listen to me. That's not being cool, kids. The Bible says be like Jesus. Jesus was humble and He was meek and He was a generous person. He loved people. He's where it's at, guys. Right, Rebecca? God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Verse 6, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cared for you. Verse 8 was the whole intent of this message this morning. But we had to preach this introductory part in order to get to verse 8. Here is how we understand Satan's devices. Verse 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a warring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Okay, listen carefully. The devil devours, now the word devour there means to swallow up, to swallow up, to swallow something up. Here's how the devil swallows Christians up. They go through a trial, they go through a tribulation, they go through a hard time, and the devil lies to them, and they begin to question God's word and the character of God, and they start getting swallowed up with these thoughts that are plaguing them, that cause them to question the perfect character of God. Now, how many have experienced that swallowing up? This is how the devil does it. He swallows us up by lying to us about God, lying to us about the Bible. Do you want the power of the devil to become less and less weak in your life? How many here want it to become less and less weak? Here's my advice to you, and we're about to close. Here's my advice to you. Pray that God would give you a love for His word, and a believing heart to believe what God says, in spite of what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. Pray that God gives you a love for His word, and a heart that believes His word, in spite of what you see, what you feel, and what you hear, so that no matter what you're going through, your heart is set on believing the word of God, so that if you are entrusted, or if some kind of a trial comes your way, and you're in the midst of fire, and the devil comes and says, half God said, so, does God know what's going on? Then why hasn't He done this? You can resist Him in the faith, and reaffirm that you're trusting God, and find peace in the midst of the fiery furnace. There's two things you can see when you're in the furnace. You can either see the fire, remember Daniel? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? That story in the book of Daniel? You can see the fire, you can see the ropes that seemingly have you tied. Do you ever feel like you're tied up in a fire, in a trial, where you just can't move? Well, you can either have your eyes set on all your circumstances, the fire, the ropes, the heat, the smoke, I can't breathe! I can't move! Or, by the eyes of faith. Now you say, well, what are eyes of faith? The eyes of faith are the eyes that look to God's word, not to the trial. And here's what Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you, except when you're in fiery trials. Is that what He said? So you can either look at all the storm round about you, or you can see by the eyes of faith, one lichen unto the sun to watch over you as a child of God. Verse 9, Whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Well, beloved, I trust God's word has encouraged you this morning, and I want to remind you to remember that God is God. If you are a Christian and you love Him, He is seeking to accomplish one purpose in your life, to make you more like Jesus Christ. He does that through many ways, the word of God, the Holy Spirit, and allowing you to go through fiery trials of all different kinds. When you're in the fire, that which is concealed, that which is hidden, will be exposed. It could be good, meaning strength in God, or bad, strength in self. If it is strength in self, God offers you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yield yourself to God and let the redeeming grace of God change your heart in that area so that you can trust God more fully in that area. If it's good, where you find that through the trials strength in Christ is made known, thank Him and say you are that because of the grace of God. And understand that the devil will lurk and try and lie to you, but if you keep your mind and heart set on God's purpose in fiery trials, the devil will lose his power against you. And you will find more and more of the victory and faith of Christ rising in your heart, putting the devil under your feet, going forward in the name of the Lord, and finding glorious victory and liberation from self, Satan, and the world. And you'll help other people too. Amen? What song can we sing? Let's sing the song, huh? On Christ the solid rock I stand. 290. The altars are open.