Message by Chad Kelly
On The Other Side of the Fire
Job 23:10
If we trust our Father in our trial, we will come out like gold!
Job 23:10 (NLT)
10 But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
1. Your Loving Father controls the heat as needed.
Hebrews 12:5-11 (NLT)
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,
“My child, don”™t make light of the Lord”™s discipline,
and don”™t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn”™t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn”™t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God”™s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening””it”™s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
MacDonald
Trials often show up when we”™re not getting what we want. God demonstrates His wisdom and love for us by allowing into our lives what we need”¦And often, the good that God is bringing to our lives can be seen only through the perspective of time”¦Today if we endure, God promises to give us what we need. Tomorrow, in heaven, God promises to give us everything we could ever want and more.
Your Loving Father controls the heat as needed.
2. Your Loving Father is close to you in your trial.
God is way bigger than your trial! And He”™s always with you!
Psalm 34:18 (NLT)
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Psalm 34:18 (MSG)
18 If your heart is broken, you”™ll find God right there;
if you”™re kicked in the gut, he”™ll help you catch your breath.
Remember what we saw last week”¦
“Sufficient for you is the grace of Me”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, literal Greek translation)
Your Loving Father is close to you in your trial.
Therefore,
3. Trust your Loving Father in your trial.
1 Peter 4:19 (NLT)
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
YOU have to make a choice when a trial comes:
Will you trust your Loving Father in your trial?
Assuming you answer yes”¦what will that look like?
HOW do you trust your Loving Father in your trial practically?
BY”¦
a) Staying in the Trial
James 1:12 (NIV)
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
MacDonald
We often treat suffering like a dodgeball game. Anytime anything hard comes at us, we jump out of the way. We spend our whole lives trying to avoid anything that will hurt or be hard. But there”™s a better kind of life””a deeper, more fulfilling kind of life””that isn”™t about avoiding every pain. It”™s about finding God faithful and powerful in the midst of whatever trials He allows”¦Perseverance is the funnel through which all Christian virtue flows.
Trust your Loving Father in your trial.
BY”¦
b) Submitting to the Trial
MacDonald
If you”™re in a trial now, your constant choice is whether you will embrace or resist what God is doing in your life.
Jesus Himself faced this choice and taught us how to think and pray and act when we face trials.
Matthew 26:42 (MSG)
My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I”™m ready. Do it your way.
Trust your Loving Father in your trial.
Conclusion
If we trust our Father in our trial, we will come out like gold!
Job 42:5 (MSG)
I admit I once lived by rumors of you;
now I have it all firsthand””from my own eyes and ears!
James 1:12 (NLT)
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
If we trust our Father in our trial, we will come out like gold!
MacDonald
Today if we endure, God promises to give us what we need. Tomorrow, in heaven, God promises to give us everything we could ever want and more.
If we trust our Father in our trial, we will come out like gold!