How to Rejoice in Trials – 1 Peter 1:6-9

This morning our text is about trials in life. Here are a couple of quotes that I like on trials. “Every flower that ever blossomed had to go through a lot of dirt to get there.” Unknown “God doesn’t always still the storm, but He can calm the sailor.” Unknown

Peter’s readers were facing trials. Persecution was making life difficult for them. We too face trials of various kinds.

Transition

This morning we are going to learn three principles that can help us rejoice in trials.

We can rejoice in trials if we …

Truly Rejoice in God’s Salvation

Note again what God has done for us.
Peter begins with the word “wherein” which literally means in which and it refers back to what he just said in verses 3-5.
1. God mercifully gave us new birth and eternal life.
2. He graciously reserved for us an inheritance in heaven.
3. He gave us eternal security in Christ.
Note how this should impact us.
All that God has done for us should cause us to rejoice.
1. We ought to rejoice in the salvation and wonderful future Christ has provided us.
2. We ought to greatly rejoice. The word Peter used means to exult or to rejoice exceedingly. We have MUCH for which to rejoice. We ought to rejoice in the LORD greatly when we ponder our salvation and future.
  (Philippians 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
  ☆ If we count our blessings in Christ and rejoice in Him, this joy will help to carry us through the difficult trials of life.
  We can rejoice in trials if we …

Accept the Need for Various Trials

Notice how God describes our trials
1. They now for a season – brief compared to eternity. No trial will last forever. There will be no trials in heaven.
2. They are necessary – if need be. God is telling us that some trials are necessary and for our good.
3. They do cause heaviness – sadness. God does not hide from us that trials are unpleasant. They cause grief. They are give sorrow.
4. They are manifold – varied in kind. Some are big, others small. Some are emotional, others are physical. Some are temptations, others are persecutions.
Notice the purpose of our trials
1. God allows trials in order to prove our faith.
  1. The word “faith” here refers to our relationship with God. Peter was writing to believers who were new creatures in Christ.
  2. The word “trial” is a noun referring to a proving or testing. The word “tried” in the middle of the verse is the verb form of the same root meaning to test, examine, or approve.
  3. Our faith (relationship with God) is being proved or tested. Peter said that faith is more precious than gold. “In the ancient world gold was considered the most expensive and rarest of all metals.” Rogers, Cleon, The Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek N.T. Gold will one day perish, but faith will never perish. If you have a true relationship with God, it will last forever.
2. God tests our faith with fire. As gold is purified and improved by melting it in a fire, so is our faith. God does not usually put a Christian through a literal fire to try him, but He uses various trials of life as hot as fire.
  1. A goldsmith melts gold to remove the impurities and make it more beautiful and more precious.
  2. God allows our faith to go through the fiery trials of life to remove our impurities and to make our relationship with Him more beautiful and more precious.
  3. Here are some purifying things we should do when we are in the midst of a trial.
    1. Ask God to reveal any unconfessed sin.
      (Psalm 139:23) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: (24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
    2. Draw near to God.
      (James 4:8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
    3. Trust the Lord.
      (Psalm 56:3) What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
    4. Spend extra time with God in prayer.
      (Philippians 4:6) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
    5. Cast our burden on the Lord.
      (Psalm 55:22) Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
    6. Remember that God’s purpose is for our good.
      (Job 23:10) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
    7. Let God teach us to be more empathetic when others struggle.
3. God wants our faith to be approved and found worthy of praise, honour, and glory at the appearing of Christ. “The appearing of Christ” refers to the Judgment Seat of Christ which we are now studying on Sunday nights.
  1. Trials are for our good. As our relationship with God is purified, God will be able to give us more praise, honour and glory when He takes us to heaven. That is His goal and desire. God is so good!
  2. We decide whether our trials will make us better or bitter.
    We can rejoice in trials if we …

Focus on the Bright Future

Jesus IS coming again (v.8).
1. Peter builds on Christ’s appearing in verse 7.
2. We cannot see Christ, yet we love Him.
3. Though we cannot see Him, we believe that He will come to take us to heaven as He promised.
4. His promised coming gives joy unspeakable and the promise of glory.
  ☆ Hymn writer Esther Rusthoi described this thought in her hymn “When We See Christ” (Great Hymns 149) “Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear, We’re tempted to complain, to murmur and despair; But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away, All tears forever over in God’s eternal day. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ; One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”
When Christ comes, we will receive the end of our faith (v.9).
1. The end of our faith is the salvation of our souls and the final deliverance from this even world.
2. One day the trials of life will be over and we will be saved eternally.

Conclusion

If you are not in a trial right now, you will be before long. When the trial comes, you can rejoice in the trial if you will: 1) Truly rejoice in God’s salvation, 2) Accept the need for various trials, and 3) Focus on the bright future. Write these three principles in the margin or back of your Bible and practice them when your next trial strikes.

If you are not yet saved, you cannot rejoice in trials because these principles do not apply to you. However, if you trust Christ today, they can.

Song: When We See Christ, 149
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How to Rejoice in Trials
3 May 2015 am – 1 Peter 1:6-9 – 1Pe15 – Scott Childs