Experiencing the Joy of Knowing God's Purpose for Trials — Alan Martin

The Christian Life and the Joy of the Lord

I'm gonna begin today's message from Romans chapter 15. Romans chapter 15 Verse 13 as you're turning there. I just want to emphasize that the Christian life is not designed to to prosper without the joy of the Lord.

If it's not a joy to you something is wrong. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a man. Going through a field and he found treasure. That had been hidden in this field who knows. Whether he stumped it with his toe.

We don't really understand how he found it. But there was treasure partially hidden in this field and Jesus said in the parable the man in his joy. Went and sold all he had. Now that's interesting we hold on to things that are valuable to us.

So what would cause someone to? Joyfully get rid of everything he had. Only something so much better. He had a new means to compare and while he was joyfully selling all he had. What was he thinking? I'm going to be rich.

I'm going to be rich. And when if it's serving the Lord, it's not that kind of joy to us. We're missing something. We are to rejoice in the Lord. Always because the joy of the Lord is our strength and we say it.

And we have a saying in the United States Time flies when you're having fun. Paul asked the Galatians this question one time a church that he founded. He asked him what has happened all your joy. How did this how did you lose the joy of the Lord and get into living like you're doing?

So it joy is that crucial for us to to experience the life that God has us in Christ Jesus so if you're there in Romans chapter 15 find verse 13 and Follow along now may the God of hope Fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that is my desire. I do not want a single person to attend University Park Baptist Church out of some kind of Obligation that you should be here. We need to help one another discover the dynamic joy being filled with joy and peace in believing.

Christ’s Righteous Kingdom as the Ground of Christian Hope

Remember last week's message we talked about the Lord laying the chief cornerstone. I lay in Zion a Cornerstone and it but it happens to be the stone that the builders rejected. Became the head of the corner the chief stone and then the psalmist says this is the day The Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

And let me tell you why I am so full of joy that Jesus Christ is Lord because he is going to rule his kingdom in righteousness and Justice and truth. There'll be no corruption. He will not be bribed. He will not have Any other agenda.

He will render decisions in behalf of the poor the fatherless the widow the alien the orphan they will all find he cares and Treats them in kindness and justice. He's not like some modern-day Politician that you can't trust he is fully reliable because he was chosen to be king by the father.

Anointed to be king because he hates lawlessness and loves Righteousness and that's why we can so look forward to his reign because he loves Righteousness therefore righteousness and truth or the foundation of his throne and with that We we want to be full of joy his joy and peace looking forward to it and I'd love us for all of us to experience a bounding in hope.

See hope is something That you experience while you're waiting for something. No one hopes for what he already has. If you're hoping for a package, it hasn't arrived yet. If you're hoping for a certain date on the calendar, you're waiting for it but there is a way for us to abound in hope while we're anticipating what's coming and in the meantime being filled with joy and peace.

Anticipating the good things that the Lord is going to do. Peter talks about that same spirit if you want to turn with me to first Peter chapter 1. First Peter chapter 1 and I think I'm going to start reading in Verse 3.

First Peter chapter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again? To a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance incorruptible Undefiled unfading having been kept in heaven for you.

In other words, you've already won the lottery. Did you realize that you don't need to play by the way? You already won the only lottery that counts. Because Jesus Christ is the source of every Treasure of God all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.

And if you have Christ you have it all. We don't need to get our riches from the world and give them our money if you but if you want to do something Why don't you just give it to me instead of throwing it away?

Well, but you will put it to use here at the church. We're we're already rich in Christ Jesus. And it says about us that we are protected by the power of God through faith. Unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We haven't seen the fullness of salvation that's ready to be revealed in the last time because right now we still have to live in a world that has corruption and Evil that causes pain and suffering sorrow and misery but one day There will be a separation of the evil and the righteous and then the new heaven and new earth Jesus Christ will take his throne and begin to reign and will literally protect that realm from any form of corruption so that we can enjoy harmony with God and harmony with one another without any of The pain and suffering that evil has caused and that's a hope.

We're waiting for that salvation to be revealed and in that it said Peter says we greatly rejoice. Even though now for a little while it's necessary for us to have been grieved by various trials or tribulations.

The the Greek word is philips. It's various things that pressure us now in this life. We go through very difficult things even Jesus told the disciples in this world. You're gonna have many tribulations.

The Old Testament said the same thing many are the tribulations of the righteous. But the Lord rescues them from them all so even though we're now going through Many things that press us squeeze us that are difficult for us.

Trials as God’s Refining Work

We know it's only temporary and Not only is it temporary listen to this God has a purpose in it. It's necessary that you've been grieved by these various things that are pressing you. So that the proof of your faith, I don't really like the English word proof there.

I Think the word should be Refining that's it's a term that's used by the silversmith or the goldsmith. So that the refining of your faith. Because faith is not finished in us. Our faith has a mixture of things some Beautiful qualities of Christ and some things that still need to be refined out.

24 karat gold is pure gold. There's no allies. 20 karat gold means that there's 20 parts of it or pure gold but four parts of it or some other inferior metal and 14 karat would be there's 14 parts gold and 10 parts some inferior metal.

What your faith Has some inferior qualities that need to be refined. Refined out and how does a silversmith or a goldsmith get the impurities or the other? Alloys out of gold and silver. What do they use?

Right because they are bonded together and in order to separate the elements that are bonded together. They heat them. They put them to the flame and the heat causes a Separation between the the gold or silver and the other alloys that are there in the same way the tribulations and the difficulties of this life That are mixed together in our hearts need a Need to be put to the flame.

They need to be refined so that our faith can become purer. Less of the inferior and more of the pure and holy faith. That is pleasing to God and the way God does what is he used to crank up the heat in our life?

Tribulation and Pressures and they're intentional. So not only are they just temporary. They're only for this life because there is there is going to be a day when there are no more temptations. There are no more trials.

The new heaven and earth is a perfect place of rest. So they're they're temporary. That's one win. But the other win is this they are actually beneficial and purposeful by God to refine the quality of our faith and Increase its purity less doubt closer and closer to 24-karat faith in the eyes of God and this happens so that the Refining of your faith being more precious and gold which is perishable even though refined by fire may be found to be Genuine in other words not genuine means 24-karat when God that day when we stand before him.

There's no unbelief in our heart just faith now. This kind of faith because we begin talking about the the need of the joy of the Lord when you understand How God uses trials because you might be wondering Well, how can we rejoice in the Lord always and how can the Christian life always be full of joy?

When there are so many difficulties in this life. Some of you are here in a wheelchair. Some of you are taking dialysis. Some of you are having to take drugs to stop seizure some of you can hardly see some of you can't hardly get up without pain and You're wondering how can we rejoice in the Lord always with?

These things still in the world. How can you do that? Well James talks about that if you will turn with me you're in first Peter the book before first Peter is the book of James. James chapter 1 turn there with me James chapter 1 and look with me in verse 2 and look what the Apostle James tells us to do to consider it pure or all joy.

The the word consider means have this leading thought. So I want you to look at me. This is the leading thought the next time you experience something really hard. This needs to be your thought. Oh boy all joy.

That's it that's what he that's literally what he's saying you can rejoice in the Lord. Always now, how can you have joy whenever you face various trials? Can you remember what they're used for? Can you remember that God uses them to refine your faith?

Can you remember that he's with you in the trial that he won't let you be tempted above what you're able to bear. But along with the temptation he'll provide a way of escape so that you can bear up under it and he's going to use the Difficulty to work some beautiful things in your life to enrich and purify the quality of your faith.

So James says consider it all joy. My brothers have this leading thought whenever you face various trials knowing this see you have to know this. You have to know this that the testing of your faith. That's that word refining again.

When your faith is put to the fire by the pressures that God allows. What that results in that the trying of your faith results in? Perseverance. Endurance, I know a lot of us would like to learn perseverance.

Lounging on the beach in Hawaii sipping something to drink. We'd like to live in Southern, California where the temperature is the same all the time over all endure. Just put me in a place where there's nothing hard.

No God to teach us endurance because the word endurance literally means to remain under. Now what what do most of us if we we think it if we don't actually pray it out loud. What do we think when we get in a situation?

That's really squeezing us Lord get me out of here. But he says you're to your head you're to have the leading thought that it's all joy. Whenever you enter these trials because these trials have come to do a refining work.

So that you will learn you can actually stay under them. You can endure you don't need to get out of the situation and then you know what you're gonna learn. You're gonna learn that victory can happen in the trial not afterwards.

You don't want to be like the people of Israel do you standing there's the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army. Behind them and God's kind of got the Egyptian army pinned back because the pillar of cloud went behind them.

They couldn't see. But what are the people doing? They're panicking. They're full of fear because they have not they had this mixture in their heart their hearts. They got faith and doubt they seen the power of the Lord ten plagues.

Deliver them from Egypt and now they're full of fear. Well, God delivers them and sends them through the Red Sea and then what do they do on the other side? They rejoice. We need to learn in the middle of our trial.

To have the leading thought in our mind be all this is going to be good. God is going to do something good in me. It is only temporary and God's gonna work it together for good. Let perseverance have its perfect work.

And then what happens you'll be it says perfect and Complete not lacking anything. You know why some of us fail many of us fail when we get in certain situations. Because we lack things. Now let's don't be too hard on ourselves.

Don't I don't want you to get on to yourself. The disciples of Jesus. They freaked out because of some things they lack. Remember when they were in the boat with them. They were crossing the sea. Jesus was asleep and suddenly a squall came up and it was so severe.

These were fishermen that spent a lot of time in the sea, but it even freaked them out. So they they became so afraid because of the severity of the storm that they cried out Lord wake up, don't you care we're about to drown and Jesus stood up rebuked the winds and the waves and He grew immediately calm and then he turned to his disciples.

And what did he say? Why are you so afraid? And And he said where is your? So what were they lacking? Hey, they had some faith. They were following Jesus. They were disciples. They were learning. But they were lacking faith.

There's deep things needed to happen in their heart and the Lord allows storms to come into our life. So to reveal The lack of faith the lack of those areas that need to be refined out. That's what James says the purpose of these but you must know this and it's interesting.

James and the Apostle Paul both stress. This is what you have to know. To be able to rejoice to have the leading thought in your mind to count it all joy. When the pressure gets turned up when the heat gets turned up and you are feeling squeezed.

You have to know what God's about. If you want to see that what Paul said Romans chapter 5, I'm gonna go to Romans chapter 5 where Paul Has a very similar thought that That is expressed by James there in chapter 1.

Tribulation Produces Endurance, Character, and Hope

I'm gonna start right the beginning of Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Therefore having been justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have obtained our introduction into this faith and Into this grace in which we stand and we boast in the hope of the glory of God and not only this but we also boast in our Tribulations.

How many of you have been boasting in your tribulations? It's like oh, right. I'm under a lot of pressure. I'm having a really tough time. It's really hot where I'm at right now. If you're not doing that, it's because you don't know yet.

You know, there's something you don't know you you don't know what James says. You need to know to have that leading thought in your mind to consider it all joy. Paul says knowing this Tribulation produces endurance.

Yep, you don't even need to learn to endure unless it's difficult. But the more difficult it is the more there is an opportunity for you and I to learn Endurance how to stay under the pressure and what is endurance work?

Endurance works that same word refining. Proven character. It's the same word. It's staying in the fire staying in the difficulty. Knowing that God is at work knowing he's refining the inferior element of your faith out of your life knowing that you stay in the difficulty and Your faith gets refined to a greater quality a purer quality.

Deeper stronger richer. Tribulation works endurance. Endurance works this deep refining in our hearts and that deep refining does this it produces hope. May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing so that you can abound in Hope.

Let me ask you to ask yourself. Are you an optimist? Are you are you that are you up here we go again, are you up here we go again? Which is it. Which is it, which are you. Because you're gonna go through it anyway, right?

You can't stop it. Can you? There's things there's certain things you can't control. But if you look to the Father If you know He uses these things to refine in your life and it takes pressure. It takes difficulty and he's at work.

He wants to produce something deep and wonderful in you. If you know that you can know he's with you and you can say okay Lord. Here we go. Thank you in everything we give thanks, I'm gonna even count this joy because Something good not necessarily gonna be easy.

See God does not promise to keep us from hurting. But if God can take pain and make it beneficial it doesn't harm us. So God has his ways of testing and Working in us that it doesn't make it easy. But when we are happy when we have faith.

When we're a faith and we're looking to him we know that he's with us. We know he uses the difficulty. We know he's he's refining us and we can literally say being filled with hope. Something good is gonna happen.

But what happens when that's not our response? When we're unbelieving. When we don't respond in faith. Here we go again. Not again. We get pessimistic. Down in the mouth. We're like that servant who didn't want any trouble.

He got his talent. What'd he do? He went and hit it in the ground. Why'd he go to hit it and hide it in the ground because he knew that his master was a hard man. There are those who don't rejoice in the Lord always.

They don't see his presence with them as a counselor a friend a support a help every day. They think of God's way is hard. Anything it's hard. It's hard being a Christian. It's hard doing what's right now.

Now you got it wrong. The way of the wicked is hard. Jesus said my yoke is easy. And my burden is light. There's nothing easier than finding yourself actually In the will of God doing what God says with God with you working in your life that's when life is really good and That's what he desires, but that's something that it dependent upon faith.

And you know without faith it's impossible to please God. Let's go back to James. Oh, I'm gonna flip go back there because I stopped early on. James said yeah, we are we're to have this leading thought.

Asking God for Wisdom in Faith

That man whenever you face the pressures when the heat gets turned up. Have this leading thought. All right. I'm gonna enjoy this because God is about to do something in my life. God is gonna work something rich in me.

I'm gonna learn some endurance so that I can be complete. I don't want to be lacking what I need. This is going to help me become equipped and full in my in my spiritual life. And then James get goes on to say this in verse 5 of James chapter 1.

But if any of you lacks wisdom because in those situations you are going to be looking for what to do. You're gonna be wondering what to do because most of the time when the when the situations are pressing upon us.

We don't have the answers and that's sometimes the most difficult when you don't have the answer. So if you lack wisdom what you're supposed to do is you're supposed to ask God and it says that. That let him ask God who gives to all and it says generously.

Now I do not know why they translated that generously because the Greek word is off loose. It means unfolded in simple if your IV single same word He gives in an uncomplicated way. When God gives something to you it unfolds it makes it clear to you.

You can be wrestling with a problem. I'm not sure what to do at all and God gives you something and suddenly ah, it's simple. Why didn't I see that? That's how God gives. God gives uncomplicatedly. And he and he doesn't reproach.

He's not gonna get on you for asking. It's the very thing. He wants you to do. He wants you to look to him. He wants you to ask him and he's gonna give you a clear answer. But what did James say? Only.

Let him ask how. In-faith, why is he saying that? Would anybody ask God and not ask in faith? Oh Yeah, people do it all the time. Help God help Lord. Jesus. Help me. It's kind of like in case of emergency break grass glass.

They'd have no fellowship with him. They have no relationship with him. They spend no regular time with him, but they get in trouble and what do they want? They won't help. You think they're asking in faith or they're just kind of throwing it up there and hoping.

Yeah, that's what they're doing. That doesn't please God. God has proven his goodness hasn't he. Look at the heavens declare his glory. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. He has all power. There are over a hundred billion galaxies.

Each of those galaxies have a hundred billion stars. There's no limit to his power or his ability and There's no doubt about his goodness because while we were yet sinners God demonstrated his own love for us.

And then while we were still sinful Jesus Christ died for us. He who loved us so much that he spared not his only son, but gave him up for us all. How is he not gonna get graciously give us all the other things?

He gave us the very best he had first he addressed our most crucial need first. We needed rescuing from sin and we needed eternal life. We needed his spirit and he gives all these things. Is he not does he not care about all the other things too?

Of course he does. And he expects us to approach him that way. But when he asked he must believe and not doubt for he who doubts is like what a Wave of the sea if you saw what the original word for doubting you'd understand it better.

Diacrino means it means this to go back and forth in your mind. And here's what many of us do when we're in a difficult situation and we ask God for help. Here's what we start doing. Let's see if I do this.

And if I do this We and we start weighing things don't go back and forth in our mind. We start trying to logic it out way. You're going back and forth in your mind thinking that God's going to use that process to give you the answer.

Bible says don't you've asked God just why don't you just wait till he gives you an uncomplicated answer. Just don't try to reason it through you don't have to know God will make it clear. You know my children I used to let my children play outside in the yard.

Believe it or not. I know you think I was really mean growing up, but no, I actually didn't play. But if I needed their attention, it was easy. I just opened the door. Hey Daniel come here. I have any problem getting his attention.

You know what? God didn't have any problem getting your attention either. Ask him for wisdom and when the answer comes it will be uncomplicated and it will be clear and Don't try to figure it out on your own in the process because you know what that makes you Unstable and all your way.

Well, maybe we should do this. Maybe we should do this. Maybe we should do this. Maybe we should do this and you end up chasing your tail around the tree, right? The only thing you do is make yourself dizzy.

Wait upon God. He loves to give an uncomplicated answer to those who because the man the man who doubts. It says he's a double-minded man. The Greek word is he's he's two-souled. He has two souls. That's interesting.

You're split personality. You're spiritually schizophrenic. You're bipolar. You don't want to be a bipolar Christian. Do you you trust God when it's all great. Thank you God. I love the Lord Jesus. He's wonderful.

He's wonderful. Then it gets hard. Oh, where's God? What's wrong doesn't he love me anymore that's a bipolar. You don't want to be a schizophrenic Christian. God is good and God allows difficulties in our lives to do good things.

Living with Gratitude, Hope, and Contentment

And that's why we're to give thanks in everything. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus. We are to have the leading thought that count every difficulty we face joy. Because we're gonna learn some endurance that endurance is going to produce some deep refining in us and that deep refining is going to produce in Us a hope we're gonna anticipate the goodness of God the faithfulness of God the work of God in our lives.

And we're gonna be filled with all joy and peace in believing so that we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we and it's going to make us as believers grateful. Thankful. Joyful and a good testimony.

How many of us would do this by people looking at your life? Can they get the impression that it is so good. I want to be just like you. I want to. I want to experience such joy and freedom and the abundant life in Christ.

That it makes people envy. How good I have it. It's possible. You know how it's possible the Apostle Paul talked about it being possible to him. Remember. Remember what he said if you go there to Philippians.

In that same book we were in the where it says rejoicing. The Lord always looked if you let's turn there. So you can see it. I want you to see it. Philippians chapter 4. And this I'll be closing with this Philippians chapter 4 I remember remember who's writing this.

This is written by the guy who was beaten with a cat of nine tails. Five times he was flogged five times He was beaten with rods three times He was in prison often. He was stoned. He was left shipwrecked out in the open sea.

He was in he had a price on his head and there were people who were looking to kill him all the time and Here's what he says in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4 rejoice in the Lord always. And Again, I say rejoice and did he prove it?

Not you remember the time when at midnight he was in the jail in stocks sitting on the ground having been having received a Flogging so his back was ripped open. He's sitting on the ground in the lowest part of the dungeon.

Of course where the rats and the smell and the filth and the all of it is there. And what is he doing at midnight? What is he and his companion doing at midnight? They are rejoicing in God. So he's not one that just writes these things lightly.

He knows what he's saying rejoicing the Lord always and again, I say rejoice. And let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is near be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication.

With Thanksgiving because you know that God cares and you know that he wants to give an uncomplicated answer. Present your request to God let him be made to known and know what happens. The peace of God that passes understanding guards your heart from unbelief.

And it guards your mind from anxiety. So that you're filled with all joy and peace in believing. By the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is something that Paul said he learned if you're there in chapter 4 flip over to verse 11 or look at verse 11 that is in Paul said verse 10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your thinking about me indeed.

You were thinking about me before but you lack the opportunity and then he says not that I lack anything. I don't speak from what he says. I've learned to be content in whatever circumstance I'm in now how many of us would like to have it?

Oh boy. I Mean no matter what's happening me to learn to be content. Content means to be self-contained. Self-contained. In other words if I'm content in the Lord, I don't need anything from you. I don't need anything from the government.

I Don't need anything from anybody else. Christ is with me and that's all I need. I'm self-contained. I've learned the secret of being content. He says in any every situation and then he what's the secret?

What did he learn? I can do all Things through Christ who gives me strength. So the secret of staying Self-contained in every situation you face is Jesus Christ is with me. And he will strengthen me and do a beautiful work in this situation that I'm in.

A Consistent Christian Witness Through Trials

That's just I'd like us to experience this we need to experience this so that the world can see our faith is real. This is a sad part and this is a reality and I I don't want you to be discouraged by this.

I want you to be sobered by this. You can be kind and walk in goodness and love and gentleness. Trusting the Lord. I mean they get your family and your friends your co-workers can see you walk in this beautiful gentleness.

Seven months eight months nine months. They see this transformation and one day you come in you don't have it together. And you're like There you go. That's all it was. Your life begins to fall apart this here's the thing about that.

What are they going to remember? Seven or eight months of your kindness or the one minute you blew it. It's a sad part. This is why we have such a high calling. To live such a consistent life with Christ Jesus in us.

That we are constantly soberly alert and walking in the Holy Spirit. And giving people a chance to see that though we're just as human as any of the rest of them Jesus Christ lives in us and that's all the difference.

And that makes us like Paul. We learn what Paul learned. We know what Paul and James knew the Lord Uses the difficulties to do something wonderful in us. So when it comes when we we sense the difficulty coming.

We kind of like the old ship captain batten down the things that are loose batten down the hatches tie things down. You're about to go through a storm and turn the ship straight into the wind. Straight into it.

Don't try to outrun it. Batten things down the Lord's gonna be with you. Let hope. Make you grateful joyful and On the other side you won't be disappointed. Okay.