GRACE TRANSFORMS TRIALS

We...are being transformed into his likeness

with ever-increasing glory...

2 Corinthians 3.18

Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 2.12

God uses the trials of our every day life to expose our weaknesses, sins, failures, etc. etc., and transform them into strength and glory.

My grace is sufficient for you,

for My power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore, I wil boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

so that Christ's power may rest on me...

For whe I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12. 9-10

Change takes place in the "refuge" of Psalm 2.12.

Refuge is the place where we go alone to be with God.

Refuge is where we "abide" in Christ and learn to "walk in the Spirit."

Refuge is where we are transformed and "filled with the Spirit."

Refuge is where we discover the glory of God and experience the power of the Holy Spirit changing our hearts.

Refuge is where we learn to love God and one another.

Psalm 4 shows us how a refuge with God's grace, wisdom, and power transforms us in any and every trial we face in this life.

V. 1--When trials have made us aware of our weakness, we can call to God. God will answer us.

Vv. 2-3--In a refuge with the presence of God, calling on His Name, we can resist devilish attacks and discouragements. In the refuge the Holy Spirit will strengthen our hope and faith.

V. 4-- The refuge of the Psalmist is a bedroom. Any place to get away from all distractions and be alone is the point.

A place of refuge is where God empowers us to work His promises of grace, wisdom, goodness, and power into our lives (Phil. 1.6,2.12-13; 2 Peter 1.2-11).

Our work is to allow God to "search our hearts.'' (Psalm 139.23-24; Jeremiah 17.9; Psalm 19.13-14) The goal is that we discover the source of our heart's weakness in this trial. When God has shown us our weakness, He will then minister grace, truth, wisdom and power sufficient to change our heart's motives, attitudes, and thoughts. He will go on to show us the wise, good, right things to say and do as we return to the life situation that defeated, exposed, shamed us and brought about criticism, rejection, blame, etc.

V. 5--When God has shown us the right thing to say and do, we must obey Him and trust His faithfulness to bring about some good result that will glorify His Name.

V. 6--In all this we will show others the goodness of God.

V. 7--Our hearts will be filled with joy.

V. 8--We will lie down and sleep in the peace of God.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace;

the effect of righteousness will be

quietness and confidence forever.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places...

Isaiah 32.17-18

RELIEF IN REFUGE

Answer me when I call to You,

O my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4.1

Distresses awaken us to our needs and weaknesses, to the dangers of this world's temptations and the powers of evil.

James 1. 2 tells us that the experience of "temptation" (test, trial that exposes weakness) is the first step toward mature, substantial spiritual development in holiness and righteousness.

1 Peter 1.6 tells us that these "trials" bring grief, but he goes on to say that trials are used by God to "refine" our faith so that we glorify Jesus Christ.

The "trials that bring grief" are listed by Paul in Romans 8.31-29. These kinds of trials are what God uses to produce good in our lives.

Romans 8.29-30 tell us that God's goodness in our trials leads us through a seven step process resulting in our glorification with Him in His eternal kingdom.

Romans 5.1-5 tells us that our faith releases God's grace that takes us through sufferings and leads us through the processes whereby the Holy Spirit floods our hearts with the love of God.

2 Peter 1.2-11 tells us that God has g

iven us incredible promises that empower us to escape the corruption of this world. These promises lead us through eight steps that fill us with the love of God and present us before the throne of God with a rich welcome into His eternal kingdom.

Contd. as "Grace Transforms Trials."

SHE WAS ON HIS MIND

This poor widow...out of her poverty

put in everything--all she had to live on.

Mark 12.43-44

The last week.

He has been cheered and condemned at His entry into Jerusalem.

He has been angry at the commercialism of the Temple.

Withered a fig tree.

Answered questions.

Asked questions.

In only 3-4 days, Jesus would be suffering from that which He would have avoided, if possible,

And in the midst of all this, Jesus sit down and just watched what was going n.

Rather, He watched the people and what was going on with what they were doing.

100's. 1,000's. Milling about.

He would die for these people.

He would be the real Lamb.

The lambs they were purchasing for sacrifice this week were His examples, illustrations of the true sacrifice to come.

Examples of His death later this week.

Careless. Preoccupied. Selfish. Angry. Proud.

How many other subtle passions were going through these people's minds and emotions, attitudes and ambitions...?

The Lamb of God sat there and they knew Him not.

He saw and knew it all. He knew all of them.

Of all of the people that day...during those moments of reflection...he settled on "this poor widow" as she dropped less than a penny into the Temple treasury.

Out of her poverty, she put in everything--all she had to live on.

Poor--pure.

Simple--sacred.

Ignored, ignorant, invisible--seen by Jesus.

Overlooked, unimportant, unwanted, undesirable--valued andhonored by Jesus.

Alone, lonely--to be with Jesus forever.

This woman--she made it worthwhile.

She was the reason.

When He was on the Cross, she would be on His mind.

Yes.

He would die for her.

For her He would pay this price.

For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

GETTNG ANSWERS TO PRAYER

"THIS KIND COMES OUT ONLY BY PRAYER"

Mark 9.29

We understand so very little.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John to see His transfigured, resurrection glory.

They did not understand what they had just seen. The Father had to interrupt Peter's "prayer" and tell him to listen, not talk. To listen, to learn. Not to talk, not to tell. Jesus told them not to be talking about the transfiguration until after His resurrection.

But, they did not understand what He meant by "the resurrection," either.

Down the mountain, Jesus found the other disciples arguing (which is what we do when we don't know what we are talking about) with the Pharisees, with a large crowd of people watching. As He asked what they were arguing about, a man interrupted everything with the plea, "If you can...heal my son."

Jesus responded to the overall confusion of the disciples, Pharisees, crowd, and this man: "'If you can?'...Everything is possible for him who believes." And Jesus healed the boy.

The crowd dispersed and Jesus took the disciples into a house where they asked Him, "Why could we not drive (the demon) out?"

This question could have been asked by the boy's father, by the Pharisees, and by everyone in the crowd.

And should be asked by us.

Jesus' answer? "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Prayer is where we learn to believe. That's what the disciples were doing---learning to believe. Jesus talked with them about their lack of power, their lack of faith, their lack of prayer. The disciples were now listening to Jesus, just as the Father told Peter, James, and John to do at Jesus' transfiguration (Mark 9.7). They were now praying as the Father instructed them. Their prayer was to listen, to learn. To stop talking so they could listen, learn, believe, and obey.

Then they could speak and serve. After they listened.

When our prayer becomes honest talk with God, we speak little and listen much to what He has to say. When prayer is listening to God, the Holy Spirit tells us what we need to know and understand to strengthen our faith. When prayer is the time we listen to what God has to say to us instead of being the time we expect God to listen to us tell Him what we want done, we will begin to understand more about Who Jesus really is and what the Father wants for and from us. Our faith will become great and strong. We will become salt and light, effective ministers of the power of God to save men and transform their heart, soul, mind, and body.

We are too much like Peter, James and John, who did not understand the transfiguration or the resurrection at that moment. We are too much like the rest of the disciples, standing around arguing with unbelievers about things we do not understand, because we have spent very, very little time listening to and learning from and about the Lord Jesus Christ.

The first thing Jesus tells us pray for is "hallowed be Thy Name." To know and worship the God who reveals Himself to us, astonishing us by what He says and does, is far, far more important than our reciting the same prayer lists over and over, day after day.

It is unbelief that repeats the same prayers every day.

Effective prayer of a right-believing person is quickly, powerful answered.

Effective prayer is for God's will to be done in our life on earth so that we speak clearly and act courageously.

Effective prayer is where the disciple of Christ listens and learns what God has to say. It is not the time that we tell God what we want Him to do. We don't know enough, just like the disciples, like Peter who so often put his foot in his mouth, to tell God what to do, even when we say "Please."

Prayer is the time to ask God what He wants. To seek to know and understand what He means by what He says. The Holy Spirit speaks clearly when we read Scripture to understand God and His will for our lives.

Prayer is how and when God speaks to us. Just as Jesus spoke to His disciples every day yesterday, so Jesus speaks to His listening disciples every day today. And will do so every tomorrow.

The disciple who uses prayer to listen and to learn to do all that Jesus commands is the disciple will learn to know, believe, trust, obey, praise, glorify, and serve the Lord Jesus.

God will do great and mighty things when we listen to Him, exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think.

Effective.

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. And ever.

SOILS OF THE SOWER

THE HEART THAT BRINGS FORTH A HARVEST

Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8

Here is a summary of the descriptions of the heart that brings forth 30-60-100 times what was sown. I have put the descriptions in blue highlighting for ease of identification. The Gospel in which the terms are found are in parentheses. I have arranged them in what seems to be a reasonable order.

There are eight qualities of the good heart, where the seed of God's Truth is sown and comes up, grows, and multiplies.

The Good Heart is noble (L) and good (L).

It hears {listens attentively?}(Mt, Mk L), understands (Mt), and accepts (Mk) what is said.

It retains (L), and perseveres (L) until it produces (Mt, MK, L) the crop.

Seed that falls on The Path is trampled on (L) and the birds come and eat it up (L).

The Pathway Heart hears the word (L) but does not understand it (Mt).

Then the Evil One(Mt)/Satan(Mk)/the Devil(L) comes and takes it away (Mt, Mk), snatching (L) the seed from the heart (Mt, L), as soon as they hear it (Mk), so they do not believe and are not saved (L).

Seed that falls on Rocky Heart does not have much soil, and though it sprouts quickly, the sun scorches it and it withers because it has no root and no moisture (all this from L).

The Rocky Heart hears (L), and receives with joy (Mt, Mk, L) but it has no root (L), and only believes for a while (L).

In time of testing (L), tribulation (L), or persecution (Mt, Mk), it quickly (Mk) falls away (Mt, L).

The seed in the Thorns grows up, but is choked and bears no grain (all this from L).

The Thorn Soil hears the word (L) but on its way (L), life's worries (Mt, Mk,L), the decitfulness (Mt, Mk) of riches(L)/wealth(Mt, Mk, L), and the desire for other things (Mk), and pleasures (L), choke (Mt, Mk, L) the plants so they do not mature (L)and remain unfruitful(Mt, Mk).

Seeing the dangers that destroy the seed of the truths of God's word, we can choose to cultivate a good heart. We are called to be disciples. We can discipline ourselves to be obedient to the corrections and directions of the Holy Spirit and make a a greay difference as salt and light in our part of this generation of this nation.

LIVING WATER FROM HARD ROCKS

Tremble at the presence of the Lord...

Who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock in to springs of water.

Psalm 114.7-8

As God led the people out of Egypt, every "stopping place" was a place of miraculous intervention by God!

The Red Sea, Manna, the dry wilderness. Over and over when the people faced a desperate need and cried out for help, God was there to provide what they needed in abundance.

The hard rock places that we encounter are the very places that God intervenes in our lives.

All the "growth" places of the New Testament (James 1.2-8, eg) begin with "tribulation" of some kind.

The Psalms list hundreds (1,000's ?) of tribulations. Psalm 1.1 sets the tone with the "wicked...sinners...and mockers." Over and over the Psalms show us the Glory and the Grace of our God intervening in our behalf as we seek Him and follow His Word. Psalm 119 tells us of 176 things God does for us when we seek Him in hard times.

In 2 Corinthians 12.9-10 God tells us, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' ... That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

When hard rocks and hard knocks reveal our weaknesses, God reveals His grace, goodness, love, power, wisdom.........

Share how you have found this to be true?

MARK 5.43--NO CAMPAIGNS?

Mark 5.43 says that Jesus "gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this," referring to His raising of the daughter of Jairus from death. (Vv. 21-43)

I wonder:

Jesus is not into promotions, marketing, advertising, campaigning, or even politics to accomplish His purposes of salvation for individuals and the world?

Jesus knew what He was doing and how to reach people for His eternal purposes, as He did with the woman who touched Him and the girl He touched?

Jesus knew how to teach His disciples to reach and teach and touch others in His Name and for His Glory?

Jesus knew that campaigns only brought the curious and detractors and distractions that would hinder true ministry to those who would believe and follow Him into and for His kingdom purposes?

Jesus knew that our work is to seek to know and love Him and seek to bring others to know and love Him?

I wonder if some of this is the reason He often told people not to tell people what He was doing. He knew who He should speak to and who the disciples should speak to. He did not seem to lack ministry opportunties in spite of lack of purposeful promotions of Himself. Nor did they.

Jesus knows that the time spent knowing HIm makes more differnce than time working up campaigns to get attendance to our meetings?

Jesus knows that campaigns to promote greater numbers in attendance to our meetings is mainly for our own self-exaltation, even if we do call it "Church Growth?"

I wonder if some of this is the reason He often told people not to tell people what He was doing or even where He was. He knew who He should speak to and who the disciples should speak to.

He did not seem to lack ministry opportunities in spite of a lack of purposeful promotions of Himself. Nor did they.

Nor should we?

Interested enough to share your thoughts?