[Mark Welch] Well, brethren, as we all know, life is full of ups and downs. At times, life is pretty hard. Would you agree? Sometimes? Not really all that easy at times. Life is a little like the road that we lived on in Oklahoma for 19 years. Our road was right off the historic Route 66 right on Tornado Alley. It was about seven-tenths of a mile to get up to our house on a road that was part gravel, part dirt, and part rock, and when it rained, quite a bit of mud. Part of the road was very steep. So steep there were a few times in the winter that we had to park it down below and walk up because with snow and ice, we just couldn't get it all the way up the hill. Now, Barb and I would jog on the hill, and our kids, too. And we worked hard to make it up that hill many times. I know I face-planted a few times, and I'm pretty sure Barbara did too. The road was a bit of a trial for us.

Climbing that hill was a bit of a trial for us, but we jogged it because we knew we would also benefit from doing so. You know, they say pain makes gain. And running and jogging, that's good for you, right? How many of you really love to run? Some of you, but probably not all of you. Many of us have also done some actual real mountain climbing. This was just a hill, but I've done some mountain climbing as well in the Appalachians, the Alleghenies, the Wichitas, the Rockies. Not the Sierra Nevadas. I'd like to do that. I've never had a chance to do that. The Wind River Range, that was challenging. Climbing mountains is a bit like enduring and overcoming trials. It's often very tough going.

So today we're going to talk about trials. Why does God allow trials in our lives? Today we're going to discuss seven overall causes of trials that we may all face in life at one time or another. Knowing where our trials are coming from should help us to face them a little more directly and also help us endure, overcome, and learn from our trials. So today, seven overall causes of trials. The first one being a trial that others bring upon us because of our righteous living. Now, that's the best kind of trial, isn't it? A trial that comes upon you because you're actually doing what God says? You're doing the right thing. You're being persecuted for righteousness' sake. We could also say that these are trials that we bring upon ourselves because we're faithful to God. So in a sense, we bring them upon ourselves because we're faithful to God. Certainly, God allows them to happen, but sometimes others bring them upon us because we become targets. People get envious, they get jealous, or they just don't like your crazy religion or whatever

So let's go to 1 Peter 3 where it talks about suffering for righteousness' sake. 1 Peter 3. Let's see what the Apostle Peter has to say about suffering for righteousness' sake. I'm sure he did his share of suffering for righteousness' sake, so he knows what he's talking about.

1 Peter 3:14-17 "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed and do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled. But instead, 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 evildoers..." And that's what some would do, they'll call you an evildoer, you're a legalist, you know, you're not really doing what God would have you do. "They will defame you as evildoers. Those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

And that's certainly true. If we're going to suffer, let it be for righteousness' sake. Peter also says in the next chapter, Chapter 4.

1 Peter 4:12-16 He says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you." It's not really strange to have trials. You know, trials will find you. So it's not really all that strange. So, "Don't think it's strange concerning a fiery trial, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings. Christ certainly suffered for us. He suffered for righteousness sake, 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." So God is glorified by our good conduct. People hopefully will see God in us. And so he's glorified when we actually do it the way he intends for us to live. "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, as a thief, as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters." Now, that doesn't seem as bad as murder, does it? But nevertheless, it's listed here. So even busybodies need to take heart to this instruction. "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God."

And we know that judgment has begun on us. We will be held accountable for our conduct, what we do, the decisions that we make. Now, let's go look at what Paul has to say about this type of trial. 2 Timothy 3. And Paul is certainly one who knew a lot about trials and persecution. So in 2 Timothy 3:10...2 Timothy 3, yeah, I was in the wrong chapter. Verse 10 is where I want to be, Chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3:10-12 Here it says, "But you have carefully followed my doctrine, my manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, perseverance, even persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra what persecutions I endured." You know, he talks about being shipwrecked, I think three times, about being stoned, about being left for dead, He said, "And out of them all, the Lord delivered me." God did deliver him out of them all, but He allowed them to be in them as well. You know, he was stoned. He was shipwrecked. You know, he had to flee for his life on a number of occasions. "So don't think it strange when fiery trials come upon you. And all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."

Now, in Hebrews 11, again, likely the apostle Paul talking about these trials and persecutions. Hebrews 11. And, you know, usually when we think of Chapter 11, we think of the men and women of faith who God has protected, looked after, blessed in so many ways. But you know, it also talks about those who suffered persecution in Hebrews 11. Let's look at verse 35.

Hebrews 11:35 "Yes, women did receive their dead raised to life again. Miraculously, God did intervene. But others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection." So maybe they could have recanted and not gone through that persecution, but instead they were faithful that they might obtain a better resurrection. "Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were even sawn in two. They were tempted, they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute, afflicted, tormented." That does not sound easy. That sounds like a hard life, a difficult life. "Of whom the world was not worthy." You know, that's how God looks at us who are faithful and true, the world is truly not worthy of someone who will truly obey God and follow him. He says, "They wandered in deserts, they wandered in mountains and dens and caves of the earth, and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise."

They're still waiting for that promise. They're waiting on the same promise that we are waiting on. God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. So we're all in this together and we shall receive those promises at the same time. Those who were converted and faithful and died in the faith, those who will be alive at Christ's return in the faith, we will then gain those promises. And then one more time, Hebrews 5:6.

Hebrews 5:6-9 "As he also says in another place, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,' speaking of Christ, of course, 'who in the days of His flesh when He walked here upon the earth, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, from the crucifixion, and was heard because of his Godly fear. Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.' He said, 'Nevertheless my will but your will be done.'" And so He was actually crucified for us, and He was perfect. And it says, "And all of this process actually perfected Him. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation."

Christ had to do this. He had to remain faithful. He had to do so to be our Savior, to be the Messiah. And so He was perfected and He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. So brethren, when we suffer for righteousness' sake, there are always blessings that God sends to us for our faithfulness. Even in this life, there will be blessings along with persecution, along with trials and problems. We often learn most or best by the things that we suffer. We learn to be more faithful, to be stronger, to be tougher spiritually if we keep our minds and hearts centered on Christ and looking at Him, the author and the captain of our salvation. So we become faithful, more faithful, and more strong spiritually. So that's the first type of trial, or first cause of trial I should say. It's more of a cause than it is a type. But the trial that comes upon us because we're being righteous.

The second type of trial, or cause of trial, is because we bring upon ourselves trials because of our sins. So just the opposite of what we just talked about. We all know that we have also brought trials upon ourselves because we are not perfect. We have done things that we should not have done and we paid a price for it. A principle is given in Numbers 32:23 when God told the Israelites what to do in securing the promised land. It is in regard to our sins that also applies to us. And to our sins.

Numbers 32:23 Joshua said, “Take note, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sins will find you out."

So when we sin against God, we can be sure that in one way or another, our sins will find us out. There will be consequences for what we've decided to do in sinning against God. Now, this is another way of saying that you will pay a consequence for your sins. God is not mocked. We reap what we sow. That's a principle. It's a law that God has put in motion. We reap what we sow, either good or bad, depending on the choices that we make. He has set laws into motion, and when we break God's laws, we should rest assured that there will be consequences of one sort or another.

Now, thankfully, God is merciful and he doesn't punish us according to our many sins. We know the Bible says the wages of sin is death. And I don't think there'd be a single live person in this room if God dealt with us according to our many sins because everyone here deserves death because we've all sinned, we've all fallen short of God's glory. But God is very gracious. He's very merciful. He allows us to continue to live and He wants us to learn lessons as we live. So, He does allow punishment, though, and suffering as a direct result of our sins. So it would be wise to try to figure out, why has this trial come upon me? Is it because of my sin? Is it something that I've brought upon myself? If it is, what do you need to do? Repent, right? Repent of that sin. That will make a difference. If you continue in those sins, you will continue to pay a price for those sins. If it's because of righteousness' sake, then you can sigh a sigh of relief that it isn't because of your sins, but it's because you're being persecuted for righteousness' sake.

And one thing, brethren, that we should always be careful about is we should never assume that we know why a certain trial has come upon someone else. We should not assume it's because they've sinned and we should not berate them because they sinned. Frankly, we don't really know. In some cases, we may know. Even then, it's probably not good to berate them for it. You know, they're learning a lesson the hard way, the way it is. But, so we should be careful. The first thing we should do is ask, did I bring this upon myself because I've sinned? That's the first thing we should do whenever a trial comes upon us and then sort that out. We know that in this life, there are prisons for people who break laws. Murderers, thieves, rapists, there's a corresponding consequence for bad behavior even in the world. You know, the world recognizes some sense of morality and doesn't allow anything to go on. So it is obviously a huge trial. If you land up in prison because you've sinned, you're paying a consequence for that. That's a huge trial that you brought upon yourself. If you land in prison because of righteousness, then so much better.

But, you know, what's going to happen in the future, we don't know. There's going to be more difficult times ahead for those people who are living in the very last days just prior to Christ's return. We don't know, are we going to have to go through some of the same things that Paul and Peter and others, some of that kind of persecution that they went through? Are we going to be stoned? Are we going to be left for dead? You know, it's interesting to contemplate these things. Now, again, some direct results are obvious. When a person tells a lie, like if a child lies to his parents and the parents know that they lied, there should be a consequence for that. That's good parenting. They should realize that there will be consequences if you decide to disobey. I mean, we should discipline in love, obviously, but there should be a consequence, and they should learn from that. That's how we learn, by being disciplined. And we'll talk more about that as we go along.

But some direct results are pretty obvious. A person sinned, this is the result, this is why. So hopefully we learn from the mistakes that we make, the sins that we commit, and we decide not to do that again, not to go down that path, not to do that. You know, Christ told the woman taken in adultery to go and sin no more. He had mercy upon her, but He didn't want her to continue down that path because He knew that she would suffer if she did, and that's not God's way. So we learn to turn from our sin so we don't have to pay the consequences over and over again. Hopefully, we have some wisdom and hopefully we're learning so we don't have to continue to suffer in these ways.

Now, let's go to Hebrews 12 where it shows very clearly that God scourges and chastens those He loves. So if you want love from God, then expect some chastening, expect some trials that you bring upon yourself because you've sinned. And don't think it's strange either. It says in verse 6, Chapter 12.

Hebrews 12:6-8 "For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives, He punishes."

Scourge might be kind of a harsh word in a way, but there may be times when God scourges. Sometimes he corrects in lesser ways. But he does correct. He says, "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons." For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? If a father loves his son or loves his daughter, then he's going to discipline them. He's going to chasten them. That's good parenting. That's what we need to do. That's our responsibility as parents. He says, "But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, everyone's going to be chastened," it says, "then you are illegitimate and you're not sons." And there's a stronger word for that. I'm not going to use it. But you're considered illegitimate if you are not being chastened because God is going to chasten those He loves.

Hebrews 12:9-10 He says, "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect." You know, we do learn. I mean, no one really likes to be disciplined that much. And so we do kind of straighten up, for a while at least, when there's some kind of discipline. He says, "Shall we not much more readily be in subjection?" If we show our human fathers some respect, or our mothers, because they discipline us, how much more respect should we show to God when he disciplines us for our own good? We brought it upon ourselves. We chose to sin, and so we paid a price for it. He says, "For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit." Sometimes a human father may discipline out of anger. You know, he may discipline out of selfishness. He may discipline in certain ways when he shouldn't be actually disciplining in that manner. But God always does it for our profit. We can trust God. We can know that He's there for us. He loves us, and He'll never leave us, and He'll never forsake us, and He will continue to discipline us and teach us and chasten us as needed. All right, so let's read a little bit further. Okay, verse 10.

Hebrews 12:10 "For they indeed for a few days chastened us as it seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Become you holy even as I am holy," is what God says. That's a tall order. To become holy as God is holy? That's not easy. That's a rough road to become holy as God is holy. But that is our calling that we may be partakers of His holiness. "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

So we are to be trained just as someone would train to go up a mountain so that they could have the health they needed to actually stay out in the mountains for maybe weeks on end. In the same manner, we have to deal with our trials. We are trained by our trials. We become stronger. We're more able to deal with things because we are being trained by them. So we should have a certain attitude about our trials. Let's find out why they are, why they happened, and let's learn from them. And it says in verse 11.

Hebrews 12:11-14 "Now no chastening seems to be joyful, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness." That's what it produces in you. You will be more righteous, you will be a better person, and you'll be blessed for it. He says, "Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down to the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

So these are things that we should take to heart and be trained by the chastening that God allows, or that we bring upon ourselves because of our own conduct. In Romans 2, one last scripture under this point. Romans 2, we'll read three verses here, 7-9.

Romans 2:7-9 "Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good. So no matter what trials come along, we have to continue patiently to doing good and seeking for glory, honor, and immortality. But to those who are self-seeking, just the opposite and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, upon them comes indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil."

So be sure your sins will find you out. If you sin against God, you'll pay a price for it. You'll pay a consequence, and we all do, and we all have. But the less we do, the better we are.

Let's go on to a third trial. This is the trial that others bring upon us because of their sins. You've all been affected by other people's sins. They've had an impact on you, especially if they've been close to you. They've had perhaps a huge impact on you. Numbers 14:30-35, we see this principle in regard to the sin of the unfaithful spies. You know, they had a great impact on the children of Israel. Because they were unfaithful, because they were not like Joshua and Caleb, there was great collateral damage because of the sins of these men. Numbers 14. Numbers 14, we'll start in verse 30, read this a little bit.

Numbers 14:30 "Except for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in."

Everyone else is going to die in the wilderness unless you're a child. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, they said, you know, you brought us out of Egypt, now our children are going to die here in the desert. God did not allow that to happen, but He did allow the unfaithful ones who complained and so forth, they were the ones that suffered and died.

Numbers 14:31-33 He says, "The little ones I will bring in and they shall know the land which you have despised, the promised land which I was giving you and you despised it. You didn't have faith in me. You didn't trust in me. And now you're going to pay the price for it. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness. They were going to die in the wilderness and your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years."

This should have been an easy journey, a much easier journey. It didn't take 40 years to go from Egypt into the Promised Land. That's the long way around. "And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years, and they will bear the brunt of your infidelity." They will bear the brunt of your infidelity. You do have a great impact on others at times when you sin, especially in your own household with your mate, your husband, your wife, your children. This is something that we should take very seriously and make sure that we're not damaging our own families. We don't want them to be collateral damage. "And your sons shall be shepherds 40 years. They will be the brunt of your infidelity until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness." So they did pay a price for their sins, but others paid a price for their sins. Everyone paid a price for their sins.

We're all affected by those near to us, either for good or bad. If you have great parents, that's a real blessing. You're going to be very, very blessed with wonderful parents. If you have parents not so good, you'll be affected by that. It's going to make a difference in your lives. The closer people are to us, the more we are generally affected by their behavior and by their actions. When someone near to us sins, we may also suffer the consequences in varying ways, varying degrees. The sins of the fathers and mothers are often visited upon the children in a variety of ways. And I don't think I need to outline them all, but if your father's an alcoholic, my dad was, ended up in divorce, it causes a lot of problems in our family. The children, seven of us, collateral damage. My mother, greatly affected by my father's sin. And I don't mean this in disrespect to my father. We all sin. My dad did get straightened out. He went to AA, got straightened out, and at the end of his life, we were close. And it was wonderful to see that happen in his life. But there was a time when we were collateral damage because of the sins of our father.

It could be infidelity, adultery, lying, theft, murder, greed. All of these things will affect the family. Lack of self-control, just being an angry person will affect your family a great deal. We learn to avoid contact, brethren, with blatant sinners, but some we're not able to avoid. Some we are going to have to interact with. We have to make the best of it. When we can remove ourselves, then that might be a good thing, depending on what's going on. We know that bad company corrupts good habits. And if we can avoid being around those who are going to damage us in ways, then that's something we should consider or we should try to help someone do better. We have an opportunity to set a good example for others when we endure this type of trial with grace, with patience, and with love when other people affect us. If we endure that type of trial with grace, with patience, with love, that's a good thing. We should all do our part to break the cycle of sin. You know, my father's father was an alcoholic. My dad was an alcoholic. Seven children, none of us are alcoholics. We've broken that cycle, and thank God for that because it does have huge consequences in families. So that's our third type of trial, or our third cause of trials in our lives because of other people's sins affecting us. It can be huge trials. Let's go to a fourth.

Another cause of a trial is one that we bring upon others because of our sins. We talked about others bringing trials upon us because of their sins. And we also talked some already about how we affect others. But, you know, there's two sides to this. Our sins will affect others and others' sins will affect us. So there are trials that we bring upon others because of our sins or maybe decisions. They may not necessarily be a sin, but if a decision really hurts someone, someone ought to think that through before implementing, you know, they should think it through. Power doesn't always make right. You know, you should think these things through and make sure that things are done decently and in order and handled the way God would handle them. You know, that's the most productive way of doing things. So trials that we bring upon others because of our sins and decisions that affect others.

In Exodus 5-14, we see a man who is very, very stubborn, says he was hard-hearted. And I don't believe that God actually hardened his heart in the way that it says in the Bible. I think God allowed his heart to be hardened, but he takes responsibility for being that way. He was stubborn, even to the point where the whole country was being destroyed. The entire country of Egypt, the whole land was being decimated. So he suffered. He sinned and caused many other people great harm. It was because of his pride. You know, he was head honcho. You know, he was over everything. And yet, had he been a better leader, he would have seen that he needed to make some changes before the whole country was destroyed. And not only that, he went after them even after he finally let them go. His firstborn son was killed because of it, and still he came after them. Of course, God was showing who he is. And maybe God did have a hand in making him more stubborn than normal. I'm sure he was very, very stubborn and very prideful. He was the greatest man on earth, right?

Our sins may also have a negative effect upon others. Like I said, if we're angry toward people, that has an impact. If we gossip about people, that has an impact. If we steal from people, all this stuff has an impact. Our sins may greatly impact our other family members. So we need to consider what type of impact our sin and our decisions may have on our children, our brothers, our sisters, our parents. From this type of trial, we should learn to consider our wrong actions and their impact upon others and stop. If we can, we should be careful not to hurt those we love and we should learn to love everyone. So the fourth trial is a trial we bring upon others because of our sins and because of possibly decisions that should have been carried out in ways that would be less hurtful.

All right, let's go on to the fifth trial. Trials that Satan brings upon us because he wants to hurt or destroy us. There are certain trials that Satan brings upon us because he wants to hurt us. He is our adversary. Satan doesn't love you. He's not out for you. He doesn't love you. 1 Peter 5:8, we know it talks about Satan as a roaring lion. "He is seeking whom he may devour." That doesn't sound very loving, does it? You know, a lion, if he attacks you, he will eat you. That doesn't seem real kind.

1 Peter 5:8 "He is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour."

Let's go to Luke 13 where we see a very interesting account involving Jesus Christ and involving a woman who is bound with sickness for 18 years. You know, why did she have such a trial for so long? Why was it? Let's see what the Scripture says. Luke 13.

Luke 13:10-16 "Now He, Christ, was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity 18 years." She was sick for 18 years. "She had an issue of blood. She was bent over. She could..." Well, maybe this is not the one with the issue of blood, but, "She was bent over. She could in no way raise herself up." So she had back issues. Huge back problems. I've seen some people that were all bent over. They could not lift up their eyes. They could not lift up their necks. And perhaps this is the way she was. "But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, 'Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.'" In other words, you are healed. "And He laid his hands on her and immediately she was made straight. She stood up. She glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath." Now, that's real petty, isn't it? Isn't that petty? And Christ shows how petty it is. This person says, "There are six days on which men ought to work. Therefore, come and be healed on them. Don't come here on the Sabbath day and expect to be healed, even though I can't do it." And there's only one that's really doing it here. Let's see what he has to say. "So come on other days, not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him and said, 'Hypocrite.'" Pretty direct. Not how to win friends and influence people necessarily, but very direct. "Hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or donkey from the stall?"

You care more about your animals than you do this poor woman. Think of it, 18 years she's been bent over. And you've seen her all these times and you have more compassion on animals. It was mainly because they were envious of Christ. That was the problem. And so, He says, "’Hypocrite, does not each one of you take care of your animals and lead them to water? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, think of it, for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’ And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.” You know, Christ healed all who came to Him.

Now, I personally believe we will see that power in God's church near the very last days. Before Christ returns, I personally believe we will see this power. There will be persecution that will come upon us. Why? Could it be for the same reason Christ is being persecuted? Could it be that God pours out His healing power and people begin to notice. And they say, let's go up to Milford. Let's go to Milford. People are being healed over there. And before long, we're way too small for the crowds that want to come. Now, I don't know if that's actually going to happen or not. I hope it does. I look forward to that. That would be pretty cool. That would be wonderful. God knows what He's doing. He knows a lot more than I do. So we'll just leave it up to Him. But some trials are brought upon us because Satan wants to destroy us. Christ turned this all around. He healed the woman.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and I don't think I'll take the time to go there, but it talks about Paul's thorn in the flesh. You know, Paul is a powerful man of God, and yet he had a thorn in the flesh. He had a physical problem or he had some kind of issue. It could have been his eyes. It could have been something else. It seems like he was near blind before he died. We don't know for sure what this thorn in the flesh was, but it says Satan buffeted him. Satan was behind it. God said, "My grace is sufficient. I'm not going to heal you of this right now. My grace is sufficient. Be grateful for what you do have." Trials Satan brings upon us because he wants to hurt or destroy us, that's the fifth one.

The sixth one is trials that time, chance...and I've added a couple to this, time and chance, it's in the Bible, but I say also heredity and and growing old. Trials that growing old and heredity and time and chance bring upon us. All these things can affect us. We really don't know what may happen next in this life. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time may have consequences that we may not be able to avoid. Time and chance does happen to us all. That's Ecclesiastes 9:11. Some people have trees fall on them. We've known of people. You've probably known of people. I know people who have had trees fall on them. Maybe they were cutting the tree, they didn't realize it was hollow. Next thing you know, they're dead. Huge trial, huge problem. And not just for the person dying, but his family, her family, whatever it is. There are car accidents. There are mishaps at work. There are all types of accidents that may cause a trial for us. This is a trial that may come upon us through no fault of our own. It's just something that happened. God allowed it to happen. And what are we to learn from it? The most important thing is to always stay faithful, no matter what. God will never leave you. He'll never forsake you. He'll help you through the trial. As hard as it gets, as difficult as it is, trust God, have faith in Him.

And brethren, let's pray for each other, especially those who have these kinds of disabilities, problems that continue on. Let's be very faithful in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe God's holding some things up because we're not praying enough. Maybe we're not as diligent as we should be. Maybe we could do better. If all of us do better, that may make a difference. So especially those who are very truly hurting week after week, day after day after day. You know, a lot of us don't have those kind of trials. I don't have those kind of trials. I don't. I'm sure I could do better. Let's take it to God. Let's pray for each other. There is an appointed time for all of us to die. We don't live forever. We don't even live to be 960-some years. I think Methuselah was 967 or 963 or...he was up there. We don't live this long. We're all going to die. Even Methuselah died. It's appointed for us to die once. So don't think it's strange when you get old, you're not going to have some trials. The key is growing old gracefully. That's the hard part, growing old gracefully.

All right, let's go on to the last point, number seven. There are trials that God brings upon us directly. Now, a lot of these trials that we talked about, you know, they're a consequence of a lot of things, or they're hereditary, or they're accidents and things, time and chance. They're because of our sins, and sometimes we pay a consequence for our sin. God doesn't have to get involved. It's just a natural consequence, but sometimes God does get involved. And it would be good to know when those times were happening, wouldn't it? For example, Job. Poor guy, Job. He was so righteous that God made an example of him and told Satan about him and put him on Satan's radar. Yeah, I don't know that I would want to be on Satan's radar necessarily. But I have a feeling we are anyway to some degree. But in this case, Job was the most righteous man on earth. He said, "Have you considered my servant Job?" Well, he sure did after that. But God did not allow him to die. He did allow him to be covered with boils from tip to toe. Not a fun thing, I'm sure. I've never had a boil, but I don't want to boil either. One is too many. And he was covered all over. God was directly involved in that. Sometimes God may get directly involved.

John 15:1-2 It says, "Every branch that bears fruit, God prunes that it may bear more fruit."

So if you're one of those who's going through a perennial trial, a trial that seems never ending, exhausting, completely debilitating, perhaps God does have something really special in store for you. God will bless you, I have no doubt. If you endure trials and you do it gracefully, God will certainly bless you for it. You know, the scripture says, "If you suffer wrongfully and you take it patiently, it is commendable for you." It may not be anything that you did to bring on this trial. It could well be that God's allowing it to test you and to perfect you so that you will be the very best you you could possibly be. In Psalm 55...let's go to that one. Psalm 55.

Psalm 55:16-19 "David says, 'As for me, I will call upon God and the eternal shall save me.'" And he's very positive about this, very confident. God will save me. "Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud." God appreciated David because he was wholehearted. He was a man after God's own heart. "Evening, morning, and at noon I will pray and I will cry aloud." Maybe we could all do better in that regard as well. Evening, morning, and noon, pray aloud. "He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me." David was buffeted on every side at times. "For there were many against me. God will hear and afflict them, even he who abides from of old. Because they do not change, therefore, they do not fear God." You know,

I found that to be pretty profound. If you haven't changed something, it's because you don't fear God enough. Because if you really feared him, you'd get a handle on your problem because God isn't mocked. Be sure your sins will find you out. There will be consequences. But you know, God's very gracious and merciful, and sometimes we take Him for granted and we believe He'll continue to be gracious and merciful and will overlook our sin when He really doesn't do that. He doesn't overlook our sin. Sin is sin. Sin is a transgression of God's law, either letter or spirit of the law. And God is not mocked. So I think we should take that to heart and learn to fear God properly, to respect Him.

Now, it's not easy being perfect in this life, right? It's a lifelong battle. It's a lifelong struggle, but we need to keep fighting the good fight. Is God in these trials that we've been talking about today? You know, God allows all these trials for a very important reason. God is perfecting us now. We're learning to develop righteous character. In Isaiah 43...Let's go there. Isaiah 43, God tells us not to fear. He tells us that He's on our side. He tells us that He has even redeemed us, that we are among the redeemed.

Isaiah 43:1-3 "But now, thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine." That's how God looks at you. You are his. He's called you. He's chosen you. You're here for a reason. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." He's talking about trials. "When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Not in the fullest sense, because God will never leave you or forsake you, nor shall the flame scorch you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." So God is truly on our side.

Yes, He does allow things that are very hurtful at times for a variety of reasons. Let's go to one last scripture in Isaiah 48. Isaiah 48 where he talks about the furnace of affliction. Have you ever felt like you were in the furnace of affliction?

Isaiah 48:10-11 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver." This is what God is doing. He's in the process of refining us, but not as silver. "I have tested you in the furnace of affliction for my own sake." In other words, the furnace of trials and affliction. He says, "For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it." God allows this for his sake because God will be glorified. God isn't mocked. We are His children. He loves His children. He wants us to become like Him. "For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it. For how should my name be profaned? And I will not give my glory to another."

No, we are the ones that God has chosen. We are His children. We're made in His image, in His likeness. God has a plan for us, a beautiful plan for us. One of God's names means God provides. God is our provider. He provides the strength, the courage, and the faith for all life's challenges and trials. He is our source of strength that enables us to keep climbing when trials are upon us. Yes, life has its trials. And thank God for trials. We don't necessarily like them, but all trials give an opportunity for growth, spiritual growth and maturity. Just like that road in Oklahoma, it offered opportunities for building strength. As we kept on climbing that hill 19 years, 19 long years up that hill, many, many times, probably thousands of times up that hill trying to be fit. I'm not talking about driving up the hill. I'm talking about jogging up the hill, sometimes walking, maybe even running in my younger days.

But trials help us to get into shape spiritually. God allows these trials. Many of them will be good for us, all of them good for us if we face them in the proper way. We learn from our trials. Most of all, we're to learn to rely upon God and always serve Him faithfully. So keeping His commandments and learning to love one another is all-important when it comes to these trials. We're to learn to endure our trials, to overcome them, and to learn various and valuable lessons from them. We're to grow closer to God through our trials. We're to grow in courage as we battle our trials. And God will give us strength to keep on climbing. He'll give us strength to endure, to overcome, and to learn from our trials.