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Trials Test Your Faith (Part 2)
Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.
Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.
My name is Mike Abendroth. We have a daily show. We�ve been having the daily show for eight years, is that since 2009? Back in those days, 2009, we were on live, WVNE 760, here in Worcester, and I did the show first live from their studio, and then I did the show live here, and let�s just see what this says here online.
I�m trying to change my limits on my Geico, because you can do it online. How nice is that? New six-month premium, et cetera, perfect, thanks, your transaction is complete. What do you know, changes effective immediately.
I did the show live here, because I�ve got this little innkeeper here in Comrex, and that�s how I�m able to do Wretched Radio live. I haven�t been asked lately to do Wretched. I should probably have Todd Freel on, and then see, here�s what happens.
You say, �Hey, why don�t you come on NOCO And then he says, �Hey, why don�t you come on Wretched And that�s the way this game works. Just kidding. Todd�s more than gracious, and I don�t have to offer to get the number here that you can call if you like to do the call-in for questions.
We could actually do that. Now in the old days, I thought about it, but here�s the thing. If somebody asks a really dumb question, I can handle that, and I can be kind. But when people want to get in a little controversy, they want to get in a little imbroglio, they want to fight, that�s not such good radio, because I�m the one that�s going to look bad if I don�t cut them off, if I let them go, if I correct them.
And it�s not a matter of me looking bad, but I would like to be in control of my own radio wave�s destiny to whatever degree I can, all underneath the umbrella of God�s sovereignty. That is true. What happens when you�re in a trial and God�s testing your faith?
Do you always have to fail like those in the wilderness back in Egypt, right? They�re traveling around the wilderness, Psalm 95 records Exodus 17 and Numbers 14, places like that. Israel failed in the wilderness.
We have a little commentary on that in Hebrews, and God�s testing your faith because He wants to show you that your faith is in fact valid. Are you doomed to fail? You are weak and frail, I mean, are you better than the children of Israel out in the wilderness?
And we�ve been looking at Hebrews chapter 3, and it was very similar to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And He says, �Take heed lest you fall. These people, you know, it�s, you know, the Old Testament�s for an example of what not to do.
And then remember last time, we got to 1 Corinthians 10, 13. �No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.
What if I�m going to freak out now? I need to heed Paul�s admonition, whether I live in Corinth, whether I live in Jerusalem, or I�m out in the wilderness, or I live here in Worcester, Mass. I�m going to get paranoid because I�m bound to fail.
I mean, I really, I�ve just been told, �Take heed lest you, you know, fail. What�s the exact quote here? �Stand, therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. There�s a false security.
I don�t want to think I�m really strong in the faith if in fact I�m weak, and I know pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. I need to be careful. Overconfidence is not good.
Self-confidence is not good. Therefore, I�m pretty much smoked. But the Apostle Paul wants you to know that God�s faithful and that you shouldn�t despair when you�re tempted. When you�re in that trial, when you�re in that test, there is a way out, and that way out is actually through endurance.
What�s the testing that�s going on here at Corinth? Well, the testing at Corinth is idolatry and fleeing from idolatry. We�ve got the festivals and the idols and immorality connected with all that at Corinth.
That�s probably what he�s talking about, because that�s the situation there in context, chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10. Of course, though, we can see that principle as it�s applicable to other areas of our life where we are tempted and tested by God.
What does Paul say? No temptation has overtaken you. There has...that is not common to man. That�s what I was looking for right there, ESV, NAS. From now on, if I ever make a mistake on the radio, I�m just going to say, �Well, I was thinking about the NAS, but I was reading the ESV, when I really couldn�t even remember either.
Paul wants to encourage them. There is a limit to the test or to the trial. It�s not going to go on forever, and of course, heaven may be the relief and the release that you�re looking for, but Paul does not want any compromise with idolatry, and he wants to know that if you�re overtaken and you�re facing some experience, it�s not unique, it�s not going to even be unbearable.
Why? It seems unbearable. Unbearable, unbearable, bear-bearable. It says, �But God is faithful now there�s the switch, �who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear. You can see that over and over and over in Paul�s epistles.
God is faithful, God is faithful, God is faithful, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 19 and 18, 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Thessalonians 3. God is faithful. However, with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.
Alright, so you�ve got the way of escape, and Paul is wanting his readers not to overreact, not to freak out, because I�m sure to fail. God is there, God is faithful, and he�s providing a way of escape.
Now, the word for way of escape is a Greek word, one word, for our three English words, way of escape. Sailors would have to make their ship lighter by throwing cargo overboard, and they didn�t want to be crashing and sinking, so that was what they would do, way of escape.
This trial, or this test that you�re in, you know God is faithful. The way to get through the trial is going to think about God and how he�s faithful. God isn�t up in the stands just cheering, hoping, you know how people say today, well, our prayers and our thoughts are with you.
God is active, and if you�re trying to get through a mountain pass and escape from a situation, that�s the idea here. You�re tempted to think poorly about God, you�re tempted to rely on yourself and your own brain power to get out of this, but God can be counted on.
God is faithful. He�s promised, and if you go back to chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians, God is faithful and he�s going to bring things to pass. Deuteronomy 7, God the faithful God. Psalm 8, thy faithfulness also surrounds thee.
Psalm 36, thy faithfulness reaches to the skies. Isaiah 11, faithfulness the belt about his waist. Lamentations 3, the Lord�s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
Great is thy faithfulness. And even in Hebrews chapter 10, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. When you�re going through a trial and you�re saying to yourself, you know what, this is very, very difficult, and I�m having this faith tested, what do you need to do?
Well, you need to look beyond the trials and you need to look at the faithfulness of God. That�s the point. Well, when I think about this testing of God and how he proves our faith to be genuine, I think of Romans chapter 5.
If you turn to Romans chapter 5, here�s what the text says, �Therefore and he early on talks about the benefits of justification, �therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And here we have peace with God, right? You�re justified, declared righteous, and you have peace with God. You have it. We have. It�s not something that you get later, and you have peace with God. Not the peace of God and a tranquility that passes all understanding, this is peace with God.
God�s wrath has been propitiated, poured out on Jesus, there�s no longer a war, Jesus now is the Prince of Peace, so you have peace with God. And you will have it. You can�t lose your salvation because you�ll always have peace.
You were apart, and now you�re bound together. Peace has been made by the blood of Christ Jesus. Of course, I�m digressing a little bit, but you were at war with God, and now you�re having peace with, pros, facing God.
That�s pretty amazing. Peace with, through Jesus, to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him. Colossians 1 .20, Peter said, �The word which he sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all.
Christ is our peace. And with that, it says in verse 2, �Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. If you look at the verse, you have access now into this grace.
You have entree, you have an introduction to. You have a favorable meeting with the King now because of what Jesus has done for you by grace and by grace alone. This is a very amazing statement where you have peace with God, this God who�s a consuming fire.
If you try to make sacrifices to this God, will God accept your sacrifice? It says in 1 Peter chapter 3,. �For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God.
So we have access to God. There was a no trespassing sign, no access, locked out, Adam and Eve driven out of the Garden of Eden, and now we have access to God in whom we have boldness and confidence, confident access through faith in him, Ephesians 3.
And so you can have a joyful, a confident rejoice in the hope of glory, the future glory. And now you can see God�s hand in suffering. Before it was just trouble, and now this brings us to the point back in Hebrews where what happens when God tests your faith?
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, Romans 5, 3, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God�s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
So you get peace with God, you have access to God, and then you have this hope. You have a way of looking at trials. This does not say suffering separates you from God. This does not say suffering is only and forever and always a chastening of God.
Sometimes, of course, it could be. And Paul here says he rejoices, chapter 5, verse 2, 3, and 11, exulting and joyful. And God is sufficient to get you through these troubles. And actually, do you believe this, Christian?
These troubles and tribulations are beneficial for the Christian because they produce patience. That�s amazing. Just stop for a second. You�re going through a trial. All right, let�s pick me because I�m doing the show today.
You get the phone call, �Mike, you�ve got cancer, prostate cancer, and it�s advanced enough. You�re going to have to do something about it. Now, I don�t have to say, �I�m rejoicing that I have cancer.
But certainly, and I can tell you this because it�s A, biblical truth, and B, and it�s a much lower B, but I�ve seen it in my own life and I�ve seen it in the lives of others. It�s been a benefit. I�m not worse off.
I�m better off. And that�s not just because we think the radiation�s working. It�s producing something in me to bear up under pressure. How can you bear up under pressure if there�s no pressure, right?
�He has tried me, and I shall come forth as gold Job 23 .10. God, you�re going to sustain me while I might be fearful at night, especially, while I might wake up. Every single day I woke up for months, and the first thought in my mind was not, �It�s a beautiful morning.
It was not, �This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. It was not, �Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy, who has blessed us with every� I�m conflating 1 Peter 1 and Ephesians chapter 1.
Let�s see the 1 Peter 1 is, �Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. That�s what He�s done. Praising God.
That�s not how I woke up. I woke up, and I thought, �I�ve got cancer. I�ve got cancer. I have cancer. I have cancer. That�s how I woke up every single day, pressure, stress. My stress was that, and my stress was also, �You�ve got to do something about it, and there�s ten things to do.
And then the pressure was, �Which doctor do you get to do the thing that you picked And every one of those things has upsides and downsides. If there�s no downside to a particular procedure, everybody would do that one.
And then how do you get the insurance? And then you do the procedure, and then you do the healing, and then you hope that it worked. So, I�m at the final stage now, the final stage of cancer grief. I�m hoping it worked.
Bearing up under pressure, and I will convey to you that there were times that I worried. There were times that I was anxious. There were times that I was not thinking about things biblically. But there never was a time that I thought, �Jesus isn�t good.
Jesus isn�t faithful. I don�t believe Him. Now, I�m not bragging. That�s just God working in my life. But I can now tell you that getting that phone call and having truth behind that phone call, you have cancer.
It was beneficial, because I could see God bearing me up under this pressure and provision, not only in wisdom and making the right decision and getting the right insurance and everything else, but still having hope, a hope that wasn�t going to disappoint.
And I knew God loved me, and I knew God loved me even when I was weak. That was one of my main lessons in life, that God loves me when I�m weak. I had to just type that in my computer, because I did not want to forget that.
What a beneficial lesson that is. I mean, here, in my Pelagian kind of background, semi-Pelagian background, Arminian background, Lutheran background, you know, you do things and you earn God�s favor.
God loves me even when I�m weak. He loved me when I was weak. See, trials test your faith, and after the big trial hits you, knocks you down, knocks the wind out of you, and you say, �But I still believe.
I don�t know if you say, �Thank you, sir, may I have another I don�t know if that�s the attitude. I wish that all my trials were done with and I just paid my dues. I mean, my big problems in my life, I don�t know, what are the biggest things, my biggest problems that I�ve ever had?
Mom dies, that was a big one. Luke born sick, maybe won�t make it, he made it, that was a big one. Church split, that was a big one. We got cancer, that�s a big one. You know, we have those big ones, and compared to other people, that�s nothing.
I got nothing. But in the middle of all those, I don�t believe less, I believe more, and I�m actually sad for people who don�t have God testing their faith and loving them even when they�re weak. I want to handle my trial well.
I want to speak well of the Lord. Now, I�ve got enough sense to do that in public and on the radio, from the pulpit, but it�s those times in the middle of the night. I kid you not, you wake up at four in the morning, and then you just lay there.
I think you know what I�m talking about. Many of you know what I�m talking about. And the writer of Hebrews, that�s how we got on this subject, before we got to 1 Corinthians 10 and to Romans 5. The writer of Hebrews is basically saying, Israel was trying God, testing God, tempting God in the wilderness.
Instead of accepting this trial from God�s hand, knowing that God was in charge and He wanted their best and was working toward that, they didn�t respond. And I think a very good practical application for Hebrews 3 for Christians is to keep believing even though you have trials.
If trials drive you to a place where you say, �My faith isn�t real then I�m glad for that trial. I�m not glad that your faith isn�t real, but I�m glad you found out that your faith isn�t real. If you�ve got a non-saving faith, I�d like you to know it.
Do you understand what I�m saying? If you don�t have a real saving faith, I�d like you to know it. And trials bring out the best of the worst. It brings out the best of the work of God in our lives, as we say, �Though He slay me yet I will trust in Him.
If I have to bury the kid or bury my mom or bury myself, how do you do that? Auto-burial. I�m still going to praise God. That�s what I�m going to do. Trials are beneficial. I thank God I got the phone call, �You�ve got cancer.
I was sitting in this very seat, doing Wretched Radio, I believe it was December 12th, 2016. I just finished my mileage for the bicycle for the year. If I can put in 5 ,000 miles on the road, I�m very happy.
I finished that like on December 13th or something like that, sorry, December 3rd or whatever the day was, 9th. I was all happy about that. I was going to let it snow, let it snow after that and just enjoy the time.
Preaching away in the book of Hebrews, Jesus is great, Jesus is superior. My PSA was up a little bit, so I finally went in and said, �All right, do the biopsy. Did the biopsy and then got the phone call.
I looked at my phone after I did Wretched Radio and it said a doctor, you know, so-and-so called, a Boston doctor, and there was a message. I already knew. I already knew what the message was going to be because when the message is, �You know what, if you want to call me, fine, everything�s good, see you in a year or two.
But when the doctor said, �Mr. Abendroth I knew, I knew. And I can actually say to you now, I'm thankful for those days. Make me want to cry thinking about it, and I'm sorry other people have to go through it.
But those days really, really are good lessons, good teachers, good goads appointing you to the things that are good. I mean, bicycle riding, that's the goal. That wasn't my main goal for the year, but that was a bicycling goal.
Or writing the newest book, or being on the latest radio show, or preaching the latest series, or seeing sudden such going on with my kids, or seeing maturity going on with the Church. We send people out and they become senior pastors.
That happened last year. There are a lot of things in a lot of different realms in my life. And then all of a sudden, it's crystal clear. What is important, what is not important? Do I need something more to stand before God than Christ's righteousness?
Do I need my own? Well, my own is really weak. I don't know if I would have ever admitted it, but I thought I was a strong Christian. And then all of a sudden, something like this happens, and you go, you know what?
We all have our times where the faith doesn't change. It just is a weak, immature faith, and it manifests itself in our faithlessness. I don't mean giving up the faith, I mean just worry, sin, other things.
That's why we have to put our faith back in and put our faith upon and not forget the riches of Christ Jesus and who He is, the object of our faith. I'm still trusting in Jesus. I have cancer, but I'm still trusting that Jesus is God.
I've got to have a biopsy, but I'm still trusting that Jesus is God. The biopsy comes back, I'm still trusting that Jesus is God. I'm still trusting that Jesus is God. You get a trial in your life, I'm still trusting that Jesus is God.
No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.
Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.