Lord, Help Me To Endure This Trial

1 Peter 1, please, if you'll go there, 1 Peter 1, I'm speaking a message called, Lord, help me to endure this trial. Help me to endure this trial. Father, thank you, Lord, for the touch of heaven in this sanctuary today. Thank you, Lord, for your word, which is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. You tell us elsewhere that the entrance of your words gives light. So I pray for light and understanding for those that are today in a place of difficulty and trial, to the point even of exhaustion. I ask you, Lord, to give us a perspective that can only be found in your word. It is not a perspective that comes from natural reasoning. It's something that you speak to every heart. Give me the ability, Lord, to speak this today and give us the ability to hear it. We thank you for your presence, for your word. God Almighty, quicken these words today and bring freedom in Jesus' name. Lord, help me to endure this trial. Now, before I even read any of this, the apostle Peter had something in his spirit of, we know today of the Holy Spirit, helping him to help others to prepare for a very, very difficult time that was coming upon them. Now, historically, we know that the empire that controlled most of the known world of that day was going to rise up, and there was going to be a tremendous season of hardship come to the people of God, to the point of even imprisonment and death. And Peter knew in the spirit that this day was coming, so he was writing in his epistles to encourage the people to prepare to face those days. And part of the way of preparing to face a day that once in a while throughout our generations does come is even today in other parts of the world, other believers are having to endure this. But part of the preparation is learning to win the victory and to understand the purpose of the trial right where we are today. We gain experience with God, not on the mountaintop, but quite often in the valley. On the mountaintop, we don't necessarily, we rejoice in God, but we don't necessarily need His strength as much as we do when we're down in the valley, when we're pressed on all sides. Like Paul the apostle said elsewhere in the scriptures, in Asia, he said, we were pressed above strength so that we even despaired of life. The battle was so difficult that we didn't think we could survive it. So he says, we had the sense of death in ourselves and we put away trusting in ourselves and we trusted in the one who lives inside of us who has raised us from the dead and given us life and promised to keep us and promised to sustain us. You know, sometimes my brothers, my sisters, we can find ourselves living in a generation where people are not going to read their Bibles and they're not necessarily going to listen initially to what you have to say. God in His mercy for their sakes, not necessarily for ours, but for their sakes, God in His mercy will let us be put into a place where they will see a strength in us that they don't have. They will see in us an ability to go through trials that they know they could not endure in themselves. So that Christ who lives inside of us, as the Bible says, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, might become known. Now, there are certain times, there are seasons where the gospel can be preached audibly and ought to be in all seasons for sure. But there are certain times where people are not open to listen. But they will see Christ in you when you have to go, and I have to go through circumstances that they have no inner strength to go through, and they come to the realization that there's a divine enablement inside of your life. So it's so important to win those personal victories now, those personal trials, struggles that you know that you're in. They're not public, but you know that you're in this trial. First Peter chapter 1, beginning at verse 3. Peter says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away and reserved in heaven for you. In other words, in the end, we win. We have a victory. We have a place in heaven. We have an eternity with God, and who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, might be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Now chapter 4, beginning at verse 12. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. You know, there are sometimes in society, some, as I said earlier, are experiencing it today in other parts of the world. We have biblical examples of times when it just seems the trials that believers in Christ are called to endure seem to be all pervasive. They seem to be everywhere. There are times that maybe you and I will have to collectively go through the valley of the shadow of death. We'll have to go through difficult periods. Till that day, if it should come, I don't pray that it does, but there's no guarantee that it won't come. Till that day may we be strengthened by Christ in the inner man by learning how faithful he is to keep us in every trial that we face today. That's what Peter was trying to teach the people of his generation. Learn to find the victory where you are, so that when the greater trial comes, you will have an increased confidence in God. That the God who has kept you in the past will keep you today and will keep you tomorrow. That you have so sown in your heart those words of Jesus Christ, I will never leave you or forsake you. Elsewhere he said, in this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome this world. Christ in me is my strength. Christ in you is your strength. He is our light. He is our hope. He's our strength. He's our song. He's our future. He's our present. He is everything that we will ever need is in Christ who lives inside of us. An example of this, when it became an all pervasive difficulty for the people of God is found in Daniel chapter three. When a king got it in his head to raise up an image of man and told the whole society, you are going to have to bow down to this image. When we play our instruments, when we shout and when we have our parties, when we do our celebrations, you will celebrate with us. You will bend and you will bow to our image of what man and mankind and society should look like. And if you will not bend or bow to that image we set before you, we're going to make it hot for you. You're going to go into the fire. We're going to bankrupt you. We're going to ruin you. We're going to charge you. We're even going to jail you. And in the case of Daniel, we're going to throw you into a burning fiery furnace. Three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who had suffered but they had known in their suffering the keeping power of God had determined in their hearts that they were only going to serve the living God and they were not going to bend nor bow to what they knew to be an abomination. This was a lie and they were unwilling to bend or bow before this lie. And so when the music began to play, they refused to bow. When they were brought before the king and threatened, they refused to bend. They believed that God was able to keep them and they told the king, and even if he doesn't, we're not bending. We're not bowing before the image that you have set before us. And it was this determination to go through trial, to go into the fire as it was. They were thrown in a burning fiery furnace and the king coming up and looking inside the door expecting to see nothing but rags and ashes. That furnace was so hot, it killed the people that threw them in. And looking inside that furnace, he said, did we not throw three men into the fire? But I see four and the form of the fourth is like the son of God. The form of the fourth is like something that we don't, we've never seen before. It's like something that could only, it's a created being that can only come from the heavens. That's what he was saying. This is not what I'm looking at as divine. And he saw this presence of God because three young men decided to go into trial and they would not bend their knee to ungodliness. They would not bend their knee to an alternate view of what society should look like. The eradication of God and the elevation of men, maybe we call it that. And when they went into the trial, because they were kept in the midst of the fire, this ungodly king saw the presence of God. Do you understand? Sometimes it's only when we go into the fire that those who are ungodly around us are able to see the presence of God in our lives. The one who walks with us through trial, the one who keeps us where nobody else could, the one who preserves us when we should be perishing because of the circumstance around us. Then again in Daniel chapter six, an ungodly leader of a country, a society, got it into his head that he is God. He should be God for 30 days. When people push God out of their society, there's no end to the stupidity that can get ahold of them. And so he got it in his head that nobody should pray to anybody but me for 30 days. And just to make sure they don't, if anybody does, they're going to be thrown into a den of lions and eaten by the lions. And Daniel, of course, who had walked with God for years and he knew the power of God and the presence of God, he knew the real God. He refused and he went into his room and as his custom was three times a day, opened his window towards Jerusalem. He had a promise of revival in his heart and he would not yield it in spite of any threat that came his way. And so he was taken and accused and he was thrown into the den of lions. Now this time, the king didn't see what happened. It was only the testimony of Daniel when he came to that pit where he was thrown in. He says, Daniel, has your God been able to preserve you? And Daniel says, long live the king. God has sent his servants and he has shut the mouths of the lions. Now he didn't see it this time, but he heard the testimony from a man of God. People around you will not always see the presence of God but they will hear your testimony. That God has been faithful to me. He sent a word to me and what should have devoured me had no power over me. Yes, the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but God sent his word to me and God gave me an inner confidence and shut the mouths of the lions and I am still here. Praise be to God. And in both cases, laws were changed because people in authority saw a deliverance from God that only God himself could give. And here's my point. If they had not gone into the trial, the kings would never have seen it. Sometimes, you know, Peter says, though now you are in trials for a little while, if need be. Do you ever think there might be a need bigger than you just feeling good all the time? Do you ever think that maybe the only way people are going to see God is by watching you go through what they know they could not go through and seeing an inner power of God that they do not have? Now Peter, on top of this national difficulty, there's personal trials that each of us for a season are called to endure and if we choose to obey God, they also carry with them the promise of his presence and his power being made known. Just as with Daniel and his friends, there's a promise that the Christ within us will become visible through us if we will trust and obey him. There is sometimes a purpose that you don't see. Somebody that God is trying to reach. I think it's a grievous error in this generation to teach people that the whole purpose of Christianity is to escape struggle and trial. What if that's not the case? You see, that doesn't fly in China. That doesn't fly anywhere else in the world. That's strictly an American viewpoint of Christianity, sad to say. All throughout the world, people do suffer, are suffering, are paying a terrible price for their faith in Jesus Christ. I preached in a restricted country one time and I received a letter from a vendor and he said to me in his letter, he said, I was compelled that evening to reject a God that I could never find and to open my heart to one who had so clearly revealed himself to me. I am now a loyal follower of Jesus Christ. He finished his letter by saying, please pray for me. I will most likely be killed by my brethren. I will most likely die for what I believe. That was his letter. He wasn't asking for money. He wasn't looking for anything. He just sent me a letter and said, I'm eternally thankful. I will most likely die for what I believe. In 1 Peter chapter 2, now Peter goes into some scenarios that every one of us have to go through every day. Keep in mind so that somebody could see Christ in us and also it can serve to prepare us for a deeper time of difficulty that is coming. You will not have confidence in God unless you need confidence in God and you've known him to be faithful. David had to defeat the bear and the lion before he was able to take on Goliath. There are personal battles that you have to win and you've got to see the faithfulness of God and somehow come to the place of believing that all things do work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. All things, all things. It doesn't say all things will be hunky-dory and peaches and cream for the rest of your life. There will be hard times. There will be difficult times in the Christian life. But there is often a purpose beyond it that we don't see. In chapter 2 verse 11, now he says, Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which bore against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation. This is an incredible scripture. It means you have to learn. I have to learn to let Christ be my strength when my neighbors are slandering me. Anybody here got slandering neighbors? Oh, yes. That's right. I hear that. Oh, yes. Slandering neighbors. You do what is right. You walk as best as you can on the street. You walk among them and yet they point out all your faults. They point out the struggles with your children. Every time you raise your voice, they make an issue out of it. And they are more than willing to slander you, push, prod, test the presence of God in your life. And Peter is saying, Don't, don't do back to them what they do to you. Guard your speech. Guard your conduct where you walk among those that are unfighted. Bite your tongue till it bleeds if you have to. But don't speak back to them the way they speak to you. That when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe, which they see, in other words, glorify God in the day of visitation. What is the day of visitation? It's the day. It's every day when God comes to be your strength. They will see something in you. They will hear something in your voice. And Peter says they will glorify God and they will see that you have an inner strength. You are visited daily by this inner strength of God which gives you the power not to respond in kind. That you can respond with kindness no matter what they say and keep doing good and keep bringing groceries to their apartment if you have to and put to silence their conversation as they see that you have an inner strength that they don't have. And I know how hard that is. I've had to face that just like you. I want to yell over my fence like you do sometimes too as well. In chapter 2 again verse 18 and 19 he says, Now servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if because of conscience towards God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. That means your bosses and your co-workers. Be submissive to your bosses with all fear, not only to the good and gentle but also to the harsh. Anybody here ever had a harsh boss? Please no amens over here on this side. I appreciate it. For this is commendable if because of conscience towards God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. Verse 12 of chapter 3 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And who is he will harm you if you become followers of what is good. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you are blessed and do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Having a good conscience that when they defame you as evil doers those who revile your good conduct in Christ might be ashamed or brought to shame or defeated. Maybe I put it that way. It is so hard not to respond. It is so hard not to go into the lunch room and tear down like everybody else is. Especially if those over you are unreasonable screamers and accusers. Especially as Christians they will test you and push you and prod you. Quite often it is just to see what is in you. You say God lives in you. I want to see that. See the unsaved one in evidence. Your testimony sometimes is not good enough. Show me. Show me. You talk about strength. You talk about freedom. You talk about power. Well I want to see it now. Show me. Show me the power that is in your life. And so I am going to push you. I am speaking now for the ungodly boss or co-workers in your workplace. I am going to push you. I am going to prod you. I am going to check out and see what you are really made of. I know this because the man who led me to the Lord I did that to him. I did it to him for weeks. I pushed every button I knew to push. I wanted to know if this thing was real. I was interested if it was real. If it was just another religion I was not interested. There are too many viewpoints on God. But if you really do have a changed life. If you really do have the living Christ inside your earthen body. If you really have been given power by his Holy Spirit I want to see it. You would be surprised who is watching you. You would be surprised who is listening to you. You would be surprised what king is looking into your pit. You would be surprised who is looking to see that fourth man in the fire or that lion who does not have the power to devour you. You would be surprised who is watching and whose heart can be turned. I remind you both of those kings hearts were turned and both of them rewrote the law in their time. First Peter chapter 3. Here is a tough one. Verses 1 and 2. Wives likewise be submissive to your own husbands that even if some do not obey the word they without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Now this goes for both sides. Husbands or wives. In marriages it is difficult when you have an unsaved spouse. I thank God with all my heart I have never had to deal with that but some of you do. You have an unsaved spouse and it is that person that pushes every button in your life. Mocks you when you go home after a church service like this morning. Makes fun of your faith. Challenges you on every word you speak and it is so difficult not to return it. Return the volley may I put it that way. It is so difficult but this is a trial. It is a trial that some of you are in right now. You are fighting for your home. You are fighting for your marriage. You are fighting for the soul of your spouse and ultimately you are fighting for your children. You are fighting for the family unit which is the greatest type of Christ in his church on the earth. It is a battle worth fighting but if we are going to fight it we have to fight it God's way not our way. You cannot brow beat anybody into the kingdom of God and if you do brow beat them and they do come to church they are not saved they have just come to stop you from brow beating them. That is the reality of it. It is so important that if you have a marriage partner that is not obeying the word Peter says you can win them without a word. Isn't that amazing? By your conduct. By the purity of your conduct. When they observe your conduct. Remember it was the kings looked in and saw. The kings saw the fourth man in the fire. The testimony was there for the king in Daniel's case but when they observe your conduct accompanied by an acknowledgement of God in your life. When they see it. It can win them to Christ because they know in their heart they don't have the strength to do what God is giving you the ability to do. And lastly 1 Peter 3 this is a tough one as well. It says finally all of you be of one mind having compassion for one another. Love as brothers be tender hearted be courteous not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling but on the contrary blessing knowing that you were called to this that you may inherit a blessing. Of course the blessing ultimately is the presence of God in your life. And Peter is talking about now in the church. It can be tough in the church. It can be difficult to have compassion or to love as brothers or to be tender hearted to each other or courteous. Here have my seat. Not rendering evil for evil or reviling for reviling but on the contrary blessing knowing that you were called to do this that you might inherit a blessing. And the blessing of course that God promises is his strength his presence his provision. See we're not called to fight against each other we're called to fight for each other. And you might have a brother or sister here today that's a little weaker than you. Maybe going through a hard time has a real short fuse and not much resource left. Somebody might be coming in and they're dragging four kids with them into children's church. They're fighting. They're working three jobs. They're fighting to pay the bills. They're fighting not to lose their mind and they don't have much patience coming in. And it can be so easy to just throw something back in somebody's face. Maybe they've spoken to us a little bit harshly. But God says no we're not fighting against each other. And some of our deepest trials can be found right in the house of God. We can get to the point where we just say I want to worship God I want nothing to do with this church. Everybody just leave me alone out of my face out of my space. Don't even talk to me. I'm just going to I'm going to pile it in I'm going to pile it out of church. I just don't have time for the hassle. But that's not what we're called to do. We are called to win our battles with our neighbors with our bosses with our spouses and in the church of Jesus Christ. We are called to win our battles here and win them now. That's why. He who would love life the scripture says and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. God is looking today at you. You who want to do right. You want to do right. And his ears are open to your prayers. He's not looking for perfect people to just add a little extra layer of strength. He's looking for honest people to say I know this is right. I know that I should not be slandering my neighbors as they slander me. I know that I should be doing everything I do as unto the Lord even among my bosses and my co-workers. I know in my marriage and in my home that I should be able to be quiet and have this inner confidence in God. I know I should be able to reach out in church and have an endurance for people to just rub me the wrong way and a willingness to build and not be among those who tear down. But oh God I can't. You see the Lord is not looking for perfect people. He's looking for people who want to do right. Who want to do right. And he says his ears are open to your prayers. His ears are open. His eyes are on you today. I want you to know that no matter how deep your struggle is today his eyes are on you. You're in your college. You're being mocked for your faith. Your professors are mocking you. His eyes are on you to give you strength. All he requires is an honest heart. The man, the woman, the young person that says God this is in your word. This is right. This is my trial at the present time. Would you help me to see your purpose in it and would you help me to acknowledge your presence in it. And somehow through this trial people are not looking for perfection. They're looking for the reality of God in my life and through my life. So Lord lift me up and let them see God in me. Let them see God. Not me. Not my human effort. But a divine presence in my life. Just as the king looked in and saw the fourth man in the fire. Let the son of God be in my trial. Let the son of God be the one who is seen. As with Daniel let the son of God be my testimony. Daniel said God sent a messenger and has shut the mouths of the lions. Let it be that you can leave today and say I came to church and God sent a messenger and has shut the mouths of those things that should devour my heart, take away my joy, destroy my testimony. God has shut the mouths of the lions. Lord help me to endure this trial and let others see you walking with me through it. Because of your presence in my life changed their hearts both towards me and towards you. The heart of the king was changed toward the three Hebrew boys and the heart of the next king was changed towards Daniel. Because he saw, they saw the presence of God. You'd be amazed what God can do. You'd be amazed. I've lived through some of it. I've seen some of it. I've watched God literally change people that were haters of everything I stood for. I watched him do it. I've seen what God can do. If we will hold to our confidence in him in our time of trial and recognize that there might be a purpose bigger than what we see. There might be somebody in our neighborhood, our home, our own family. There might be somebody in our community. There might be somebody in our church even today that says God I will walk with you if you will just show me that this is real. If you will just show me. You are the only Bible now that many, many people are going to read. It's the presence of God in your life. And so there's no shame in saying Lord help me. Lord help me in my trial. God is not looking today for perfection in you. He is the only perfection in your life. He is the only enduring strength. Everything is in him, through him and because of him. He's really just looking for an honest heart. My brother and my sister win your battles now. Win your private battles now. Because we are potentially going into a season of difficulty where you're going to have to know his ability to keep you. And you're going to have to be able to see the divine purpose of God in all of it. You rejoice Peter said in the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Though now for a little while if need be you've been grieved through various trials. The genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes. Though it be tested by fire it might be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Father I thank you Lord for your word today. I thank you God for the men and women that you have brought together into this auditorium today to hear your word. Lord we know that your word is true. And so today we are all asking you for the strength to endure the trials that we find ourselves in. That we might grow in grace. That we might have a deeper understanding of faith. That we might be a people who truly are an expression of the reality that Jesus Christ you are the son of God. And you were raised from the dead. And you do live inside of these earthly temples. Help us Lord Jesus Christ to be lamps that shine in this darkened moment in history. Give us great grace to see what ungodly men can't see. And ungodly women can't see. Help us to see your hand in every situation for you did tell us all things. All things. Work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And so father I thank you Lord. The entrance of your words gives light and strength. And I thank you for it in Jesus name. As we are going to stand in just a moment. I want to just give a real simple altar call this morning. North Jersey welcome to you in North Jersey. In the education annex here in the sanctuary and those that are with us online. Lord help me to endure this trial. It's that simple. Lord help me. And God will help you. You know when Peter wrote these words they were probably about a year away. You look at it historically it was as close to a year away from an absolute bloodbath among the Christians. I'm not suggesting that for our generation don't misunderstand me. But that was the circumstance under which he wrote. And knowing that he could have maybe stayed on the big picture the whole time. Why did he go to husbands and wives? Why did he go into employees and employers and neighbors? Because he knew that's where the big battle would be won. When people got the victory in these smaller hidden places it would give them the courage and the faith in God to know that they can stand in the larger arena. If you don't win those first battles you'll never stand in the second. And he knew that. God knew that. That's why Peter's not just staying on the big picture and writing about the fall of Rome and writing about Nero and all the things he was going to do. The horrific persecution as the Christians were going to be blamed for the failing of that society at that time. He could have stayed there in his whole book but he knew as we know that in winning these personal trials, struggles that's where we build a bank may I call it of confidence in God. Of saying Jesus be seen in me now. Not some day way ahead in the future but now. And let me see your purpose now. For why I'm in this trial. Who is it you're trying to reach? Who are you trying to show your presence to? God help me just to help me to escape always wanting to escape. And show me your presence where I am now and your victory where I am now. And not just for me but for the sake of somebody who's watching my life. That somebody could be right across your table at dinner time. Somebody is looking for reality. And so Father I just thank you Lord for these men and women. God who are here to say Lord help me in my trial. I thank you Lord that you will. You have never failed. You've never forsaken any who have trusted in you. You even told Israel you said when you walk through the waters I'll be with you. When you go through the fire it will not burn you. You talked about your faithfulness Lord so today we open our hearts and say God be faithful to us. And show us how faithful you are. God help us to rejoice. Give us a song Lord in the midst of our trial. Not after but in the midst of it God. Give us a song of confidence that people will look and say what is the reason for the hope that is in you? Help me to understand why you can sing when you are enduring what you are enduring. Give us a song of praise for you. Give us good words to speak about others when they're not speaking good words about us. Only by your spirit can this happen Lord. We recognize we don't have the power. And so we stand all of us at this altar saying Lord help us to endure in our trial. Help us to understand. Help us to have the victory. And Father we thank you Lord. We thank you for the miracles that we will see. We thank you God for the souls that will be saved. We thank you Lord that truth sets free. We thank you even today we're being set free from all of the accusations of the enemy trying to tell us that God is not with us when God has even allowed this for a reason we don't know yet. But Lord thank you. Thank you. I pray God for every home that's represented here that you would heal marriages. I ask you Lord, we ask you for children God that they would see reality in their mom and dad and turn quickly to you as Lord and Savior. We ask for courage for college students who have to face the vilification of everything they believe every day when they go to class to try to learn. Oh we thank you God for giving them a wisdom that can't be stood against Lord. Thank you for courage and love Father that you promise that will cast out all fear. For those that have to endure neighbors Lord that are just bent on destroying them. Lord we just thank you God for acts of kindness that your word says they will see and they will be brought to the knowledge of Christ through it. We thank you Lord that you'll keep us kind that we'll not become people who respond with evil for evil. Thank you for these things oh God. Thank you Lord. Thank you that you're leading us to victory the way you do Lord, not the way we think it should happen but the way you do. And we give you today praise and we give you glory for what you will do through every life here that says Lord help me. Lord help me. In Jesus name hallelujah.