Trials & Tribulation
- His Servant - Rob McKee
- Feb 11, 2020
- 13 min read
Definition of trial (noun) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial
1 : the formal examination before a competent tribunal of the matter in issue in a civil or criminal cause in order to determine such issue
2a : the action or process of trying or putting to the proof : test
b : a preliminary contest (as in a sport)
3a : a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness — compare clinical trial
b : one of a number of repetitions of an experiment
4 : a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation
Definition of tribulation https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tribulation
: distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution also : a trying experience
Let’s start reading here…
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from The Love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from The Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is basically saying here that there is really nothing that is able to separate us from The Love of God. He asked the question, “shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, etc.?
Jesus said that “no man” is able to pluck His sheep from His hand:
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's Hand. I and My Father are One.
We need to be careful though because Jesus did not say that we could not ‘jump’ from His hand! He never forces anyone to serve Him.
Remember how Paul said that he is persuaded that none of the things in the first quoted scripture could separate us from “The Love of Christ” or “The Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”? Well, what exactly is “The Love of God”? We need to know this to first test if we are truly in His Love to begin with, and then also to see if we are in a position that we will not be separated from His Love…
What is The Love of God?
1 John 5:3 For this is The Love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.
Now that we know this, if we put this scripture together with what Paul said above in Romans, we now can understand that none of those things mentioned can cause us to stop keeping God’s commandments. Do you see this? John says that “His commandments are not grievous” to us either.
Now does this also mean that we will not be tested and that keeping God’s commandments is always easy? NO – it did not say “easy”, it says “not grievous”. This simply means that, if we are a true seed of God, and we believe and love the truth of The Gospel: that we must keep God’s commandments - trials and tribulation should not cause us to say, “God’s Love is not worth it”. -That would mean that the keeping of His commandments is grievous to us.
Like was already said though… God does not force us to accept His Salvation. If we are not yet, rooted and grounded in His Love, we can turn our backs on The Truth. So much for the doctrine that says a person is saved in an instant! Haven’t you read about the parable of the sower?
Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:3-9 And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Let’s focus on the seed that fell on the “stony ground” for the purpose of this study. Jesus later explains this parable to His disciples:
Matthew 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
So, there we have it: those that have a “stony” heart will receive The Word of God with joy, and even endure in it for a while, but when faced with persecutions and trials because of their belief in The Word of God, they are offended. We all understand that when people become offended, they tend behave in ways that they might not otherwise act.
Many offended people also tend to flee whatever or whomever it is that they are offended with. This is true even when this behavior is destructive to them and/or relationships that they may have. What about their relationship with God? Well, this is exactly what this parable is telling us. These offended people ‘choose’ to separate themselves from having a relationship with Our Lord. This is very sad, but it has happened…
2 Peter 2:20-22 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Why does this happen? Well, one reason is that some may have not been diligent enough to read God’s Word and find that they are expected to suffer.
2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us
When we come to Christ it is therefore VERY important that we know and realize that we must take up our cross and follow Him! We will have to endure trials and even tribulation, but it is for our good:
Matthew 10:38-39 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
As we walk with Jesus, we understand that we must grow into a Son of God. This is what His Word and the ministry are for:
Ephesians 4:11-16 And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
But – what happens along the way? You guessed it – trials! As mentioned in the definition at open: a trial is to ‘prove’ something. In this case, our faith in God. (James 1:2-4 above) We do not need to fear though because:
What is being tried? -Our faith
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God isfaithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
That is why this took place… our Lord is our example:
Matthew 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross.
We also have each other (our brothers and sisters in Christ), right?
Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Are we able to endure correction? From a brother or sister? We’d better be!
Proverbs 15:10 Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
What fuels temptation?
Much of the time our trials will involve temptation. Beware because man is usually tempted with things that are already within him before he comes to God. I am talking about lust here. Not just sexual desires, but this could be any of the “works of the flesh” (and then some) found in Galatians chapter 5. These things need to come out. This is where the devil comes in…
James 1:12-15 Blessed isthe man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Sometimes there are things within us that we did not realize were there. Anger, for instance – who never gets angry? Some people have better temperance than others, right? However, everyone, at some point in their lives becomes angry. Is this sin? Nope. It can surely lead to it though. To better explain, “anger” and “wrath” are two different things.
Anger is often the cause of wrath though. Likewise, sin can cause someone to be ‘short-tempered’ and be made angry much easier than others. If someone has hatred in their heart (work of the flesh), they are likely to get angry easily. If they are tempted and allow this lust to conceive – well, then comes wrath. Is your wrath justifiable? Better be careful how we answer this! Ever see how some people behave when they are angry? A lot of time they look silly, right? Sometimes they can cause a great deal of pain, misery, and/or destruction when under the influence of anger.
Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
James 1:18-21 Of His own will begat He us with The Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
The Power to Overcome…
We know and understand that we must be converted to Christ, having the indwelling Spirit of God within ourselves that gives us the power to overcome sin – right??? How does it work? It reveals the truth of God’s Word in our lives.
John 16:13-14 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.
John 8:32 And ye shall know The Truth, and The Truth shall make you free.
John 17:14-17 I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is truth.
Psalms 119:10-12 With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me Thy statutes.
Psalms 19:7-10 The Law of The LORD is perfect, converting the soul: The Testimony of The LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The Statutes of The LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: The Commandment of The LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The Fear of The LORD is clean, enduring for ever: The Judgments of The LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
The Power of God is found within His Word! The Truth is where we find this power to overcome satan, sin, and self! Do you Love God? If so, you love His Word.
John 14:15 If ye love Me, keep My commandments.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Psalms 119:162-168 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.
Always Trust God and Count All Men (and satan) as Liars!
What if we feel that we are failing or have failed a trial? PRAY!!! Never give in! You are learning something. Grab your Bible and dig into it! Put on the whole armor of God!
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Proverbs 24:15-20 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest The LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him. Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in The Lord, and in The Power of His Might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Watch out for those pedestrians and by-standards! They can get caught in the crossfire! Our faith in God must be the most important thing to us if we are to be proven in our trials and overcome this world!
Luke 12:51-53 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
1 Peter 4:12-17 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Revelation 21:3-8 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
May God richly bless all who can hear. Amen.
Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
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