Pastor's Blog

(Continuation of last week's writing)

III. We are Thankful for Trials BecauseThey Draw Us To Trust More In Christ, To Greater Dependence on Grace, today, in the here and now.

Pastor Jay Weidner
"Yet we must understand that Christ is with us in the here and now and is showing the love of God toward us through the Holy Spirit even in the midst of trial."

"We have all the same benefits as the apostles; the love of God by the same Spirit is in our hearts and in the midst of difficulty we are to hold firm in that love, not focusing on the trial but on the Lord of the trial and its resolution."

IV. We Do Not Have To Understand God's Purpose To Be Thankful In the Midst of Trials.

We almost always will not understand what His specific purpose for our trial is, but He does and in His Sovereign (supreme authority, not under anyone else's authority or control) wisdom He acts accordingly. Therefore, we are called rejoice in our difficulties, knowing that through it all we will learn to trust and depend on Him in a greater way through life's trials.

When we draw near to the Lord in trust and dependence, He draws near to us by His Presence,

KJV James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
KJV 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.

Which means that when we believe that the Lord is with us, we have the absolute trust that He will see us through our current trial, and He will glorify His name by bringing blessing to our lives through the trial. He is waiting to bless us with His strength:

Yesterday I received a text from a loved one, who shared with me the following verses:

KJV Isaiah 40:29-31 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

VI. We are Thankful for Trials Because When Received as From the Hand of God, a living and active faith is tested and proved. Also, through trials we experience we are equipped to minister to others.

Trials have a way of testing our foundations, for through this testing our trust and dependence on things other than Christ are seen for what they are. It has been said that adversity builds character. That is true only if there is a foundation of faith. Most often adversity reveals as to what we are trusting in, or depending upon.

Foundation
KJV Romans 5:1-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access(approach) by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

KJV Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. (confession) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (with confidence) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Strengthening of our faith

Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations (a pressing together, pressure, oppresion, affliction, distress) also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;(steadfastness, constancy, endurance) And patience, experience; (that which is gained as a result of being tried) and experience, hope: (joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation)
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

We will not be disappointed in our expectation, that which we confidently await will be there. God will not pull the rug out from underneath us.

KJV Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

KJV Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

KJV 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Other Scriptures which speak of rejoicing in suffering.

James 1:2-4 Consider it joy when trials come

1 Peter 1:1-9 Rejoice in tribulations that may come
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1 Peter 4:12-19 Rejoice in the knowledge of the future

2 Cor 1:3-10 Trials endured teach/train us to minister to others.

Together in Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

It has been said that an old song becomes new when it is born of experience. The hymns and songs we have sung today became a new song to the writers of them, for they were created out of their own experiences of life. Experiences which are in response to their encounter with the Living God through Jesus Christ.

KJV Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

As we sing these hymns and songs, they become new to us as we experience the touch of the Lord through the words/music which speak of Christ. And when we experience His Presence deep into our soul, the permanent marker of the blessing is indelibly imprinted into our spiritual memories. We cherish the message of Christ, but also the tune, the melody, where we were, or who we were with, in those times when the Lord touched us with His Spirit, bringing great joy to our soul!

KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I. God Owns Everything and Gives Us Everything

The Bible contains many exhortations to give thanks to God, from whom we receive everything. All things are His as David testified during the providing for the temple that his son Solomon would later build:

KJV 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

In the book of Deuteronomy the Lord reminded his people that He was the one who provided for all their needs, and that they not forget this truth, warning them not to say in their hearts:.. My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But rather than they would remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

We are told not to forget all the benefits which we have received from the Lord.

KJV Psalm 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

And in the New Testament:

KJV 2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

We would all acknowledge that we are prone to forget what we have been given, therefore we are slow to thank the Lord for His innumerable blessings, those blessings which are spiritual as well as those which have to do with our daily bread.

Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote from prison that in normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and that life cannot be rich without such gratitude. He goes on to say that we have received life; and what we have learned, others have taught us. What we do particularly well is due to the talents and gifts that God has entrusted to us. We are surrounded by family and friends who enrich our lives in various ways. Much has been given to us.

"But we receive more when we are thankful for all that God and others have given us.
"It is thankfulness that builds in us the capacity for generosity. "
"Unthankfulness robs us of the benefits of the very things we have received."

Therefore the Lord reminds us today:

KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

II. We are Thankful For Many Answered Prayers In Our Lives

Even though we are prone to forget these blessings and under appreciate both the spiritual and physical provisions, we nevertheless have no difficulty in understanding that when they are received with thankfulness, great glory goes to our Father in heaven for His loving provision for us. And as Bonhoffer pointed out, because we receive these things with true gratitude, we then are generous with both spiritual and physical blessings. We want to share them with others.

When our health is good, when the health of a loved one has been restored, when we have all our loved ones around us, when our marriage is flourishing, when our families are walking in truth,

when we have a job and are physically able to work, when our future is all planned out and somewhat secure, when we are able to run around the track with great energy,

when we are able to do gymnastics and swim, when we have a special person in our life, when our bank account is on the plus side, and so on, in general, when life is good, it is somewhat natural to live in a spirit of thankfulness.
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KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

But what about when things are not so good?

When our health or the health of a loved one failing or worrisome, when our loved ones live far away, when we have lost a loved one, when our marriage or the marriages of those close to us is failing or has failed, when those close to us are not walking in truth, when we are worried about losing our job or have already lost it,

when we are worried about how we are going to provide for ourself or our loved ones in the future, when our special friend has gone away, either by choice of by death, when we are not able to run around the track, when we are not able to do gymnastics or swim, when our bank account is gone and debts are rising,

or to sum it up: when the difficulties of life threaten to swallow a person up, Lord, do you mean even in those things we are to give thanks? You really mean that, God? How does that work?

III. We are Thankful for Trials BecauseThey Draw Us To Trust More In Christ, To Greater Dependence on Grace.

God uses trials for more than bringing us to a greater trust and dependence in Him. Our dear brother, Jay Weidner, had written an article in the Inter-Lutheran Theological Seminary a short time before his wife was tragically killed. In that article, Pastor Jay speaks of the hope we have in times of trial, in the here and now.

"Yet we must understand that Christ is with us in the here and now and is showing the love of God toward us through the Holy Spirit even in the midst of trial."

"We have all the same benefits as the apostles; the love of God by the same Spirit is in our hearts and in the midst of difficulty we are to hold firm in that love, not focusing on the trial but on the Lord of the trial and its resolution."

Here Pastor Jay is speaking of the reality that we are held in the embrace of the love of God, and we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

George A. Young was a poor carpenter and preacher who lived with his loving wife in small rural communities. With financial support never secure, he built their own small home. While he was away on a preaching mission, some locals who did not like his preaching set fire to and destroyed the house. This song, a reaffirmation of his faith in God, even in adversity, was written following that disaster. This occurred around the turn of the 1900's.


Hymn: #448 God Leads Us Along

In shady green pastures so rich and so sweet, God leads his dear children along; Where the water's cold flow bathes the weary ones feet, God leads his dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all thro' the blood; Some thro' great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads His dear children along; Sometimes in the valley, in the darkest of night; God leads his dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all thro' the blood; Some thro' great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long.

Tho' sorrow befall us, and Satan oppose, God leads His dear children along; Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads his dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all thro' the blood; Some thro' great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long.

Away from the mire and away from the clay, God leads His dear children along; Away up in glory, eternity's day,, God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all thro' the blood; Some thro' great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long.

Always in Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala