Turning Your Trials Into Triumph: Part 1 | Doug Batchelor

foreign [Music] next two weeks we're going to be talking about turning your trials into Triumph turning your trials into Triumph you know I like amazing facts and the athlete that has won the most medals of any athlete in the world is Michael Phelps in many categories of swimming I thought this was a very interesting picture one of his final gold medals that he won you can see he's kissing the metal he's standing on the podium and you see the tears coming to his eyes as they're playing the national anthem uh it's a pretty grueling process to get to the Olympics first of all anyone who makes it to the Olympics is a champion because they're there representing their country because they've already gone through incredible discipline training trials tribulations before they experience the Triumph of being chosen to even go to the Olympics but to win in the Olympics is a whole other level of training I went online and looked at some statements from Michael Phelps regarding his Regiment of training by the way he won was a 28 medals 28 Olympic medals 23 of them gold medals in all different categories of the swimming events becoming the most decorated Olympian ever doesn't come cheap he's often have to grind often and harder to get there his workouts were punishing his body is well suited to swimming which plays into his success but is real secret to success is how hard he worked in the gym in the pool every day his workout was intense his diet pretty extreme but if you're going to aim for becoming the best of the best then you're going to have to push yourself further than the rest Michael says in preparation for Beijing I started adding weight lifting to my dry land work since then we've been expanding the amount of Weights I'm using and I'm running more than I ever have push-ups and pull-ups also have to be essential for me some of the most effective drills focus on vertical kicking and underwater kicking Philip said it's painful but very effective it's painful in Beijing when my goggles filled with water I didn't Panic can you imagine that you're in an olympic race you dive in the water and your goggles fail and they fill up with water and you're blind now and you've got to raise several laps when my goggles filled with water I didn't Panic he says I went back to all of my training I knew how many strokes it would take me to get up and down the pool so I started counting my Strokes I didn't reach the time I wanted but I did win the race I think sometimes we we don't know how much training is involved they say that there's trials and tribulations of training before you can turn that into Triumph well God wants you to receive the gold he wants you to walk on the golden streets and get your Golden Crown and you are in training right now and it feels like trials and tribulations but this is par for the course because the lord loves us you're going to experience trials they teach us to trust and I'm using a lot of teas here in this I've Got a Friend one of the gentlemen that Pastor Ross and I we play racquetball from time to time and and I remember one of our friends known him for years uh played racquetball he's a a worker had a company drove this company truck around finally he got to where he retired and he said I'm going to buy a new truck I've retired bought a new truck thought he'd just now begin to enjoy life and was involved in an accident I think it may have been a hit-on collision uh nobody was killed but he was banged up pretty bad and it wrecked his truck brand new truck and he was wondering what did I do wrong why is this happening to me all the pain and the loss and he was very upset and depressed and discouraged that this should happen at this point in his life is still feeling sore he figured he'd broken some ribs the doctor said you might want to come in and get an MRI and check on that which he did and in the process the doctor called him in and said yeah you broke some ribs there's no serious internal injuries but he said you've got a tumor on your kidney and you need to let us do some tests and they did some tests and he said it's malignant I said it's good that we caught this because it doesn't look like it's spread your other kidney is good and the doctor said it's a wonderful providential thing you have this accident you wouldn't have felt the problem until it had spread and it would have been too late at that point and so he was telling us how thankful he was that he went through the trials of the truck accident and he healed from his surgery he healed from his broken ribs and the insurance company got him a new truck and so when you're going through a trial like that you're wondering why but you know if you're God's child there's a promise and you probably know it in Romans chapter 8 says in verse 28 and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose God allows trials and he's usually using those trials for one of two reasons one God wants to do something in you two God wants to do something through you sometimes it's both any trial or trouble or tribulation that you might go in through be going through or some form of suffering usually God is going to use it because he's doing something in you he's teaching you he may also be witnessing through you you know we do our best witnessing through trial that's the best time to let your light shine is in the darkness amen and often It's a combination of the two things that you're going through and I know if I'm going through a hard time sometimes we go through trials because we just haven't made good choices and God is trying to teach us you're going through some fastening chastening rather and some discipline and I've often prayed Lord whatever it is you're trying to teach me through this please help me learn it so I don't have to take this class again amen and I think I have learned some things along the way that have saved me from unnecessary suffering important biblical principle everybody is going to experience tough times we will all experience suffer you know there's a wonderful story in the Bible in the Book of Genesis and you can see on the side panels the story of Joseph being reunited with his brothers that comes from Genesis 45 and I'm going to be reading to you verses 5 through 8 after he reveals himself to his brothers I'll start with verse 4. Genesis 45 and Joseph said to his brothers please come near to me so they came near and he said I am Joseph your brother who you sold into Egypt but now do not be angry or grieved with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life for these two years of famine has been in the land and there are still yet five years in which they'll be neither plowing or harvesting God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great Deliverance Joseph was saying all that suffering that I went through God had a plan to save much life through it and you know I think knowing there's a purpose in what you suffer makes it a lot more bearable amen not only that was God going to feed the people of Israel there but you can read in Genesis 46 verse 3 verse 3 . Jacob was apprehensive about taking everybody down to Egypt God said I am the god of your father do not fear to go down to Egypt for I will there make you a great nation now did God make a great nation for them in Egypt did the children of Israel have some trials in Egypt they were being forged into a great nation through trials they were crying out to the Lord why is this happening you know nations are rarely born without suffering when America was born as a nation did they experience some suffering in the process it's often in the context of War there is blood sweat tears pain and then you have a birth and that's true in the political realm it's true in the Physical Realm now I know today they've got all kinds of things to stop the pain of childbirth but in the good old days before a baby came there was often some pain in anguish you know weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning so to speak but everyone experiences trials I think it was Oswald Chambers who said suffering is the heritage of the Lost in the saved in the Son of God each ends in the cross the bad thief is crucified and he's lost the repentant Thief he's crucified and he's saved the Son of God is crucified we see the heritage of suffering is widespread so as I'm talking about trials and suffering and tribulation and life you might be thinking well I don't want to come to this church because being a Christian might involve trials you're going to have problems either way there are troubles in life you can't escape that the difference is that the Troubles of the Lost end in tragedy were the trials of the saved end in Triumph so you've just got to make up your mind do you want to put yourself in the hands of God so that he can orchestrate all of your trials so that you're not tempted above what you're able and he'll measure it out to you exactly what you need for your Eternal good or you put your life in the hands of the devil and you'll still suffer suffering is the lot of humanity job said like the Sparks Fly upward and there's just problems in life now don't get discouraged it doesn't mean there's problems all the time there are seasons of peace I mean even after Jesus Temptation says the devil left him for a season Say Amen so it's not always like that but you're going to have troubles knowing how to consider your troubles can make your life a lot happier see a Christian's Joy is not held captive by circumstances when you're a Christian you can have joy regardless of the circumstances of what you might be going through the Bible says rejoice in all things Rejoice forevermore and so you can have a joy because if you understand what the purpose of Trials is you embrace them and that turns your trials into Triumph everybody struggles a lot of us do a good job of hiding it Saint Augustine said God had one son on Earth without sin but he's never had a son without suffering is suffering for everybody I remember hearing a story about this um man from New York City and he was in court in Texas and he was suing for damages because of his medical bills in a traffic accident with this farmer and his horse trailer and the prosecuting attorney said to the man didn't you tell the policeman at the scene of the accident that you were fine he said yes but I need to explain and he said no no you said you were fine did you say that he said yes I did but I need to explain he said no no you said you were fine and finally the judge says well let him explain and he said well I was driving from New York to California and going through Texas on the highway this farmer pulling his truck out in front of me with the horse trailer lost control began to fifth tail he flipped over I tried to avoid him I flipped over and there we were all sprawled out in the road and he said it wasn't a policeman that showed up first it was a Texas Ranger the Texas Ranger went over to where the horse was suffering terribly he pulled out his revolver and he shot the horse then he walked over to me and said how are you doing he said I'm fine I said I don't want to end up like the horse and I think a lot of us often say oh we're just fine how are you doing fine and we're not always fine everybody struggles you know Jesus said in John chapter 16 verse 33 these things have spoken to you that in me you might have peace in the world you'll have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world Jesus said you will have tribulation but you notice he said be of good cheer and you can have peace so yes there's going to be problems in life tribulations problems it's the same thing but you can still be cheerful and you can still have joy and you can still have peace in spite of the trials and the problems God can turn them into triumphs second Timothy 3 verse 12 yes all who desire to live Godly in Christ will suffer persecution as soon as you make up your mind you want to be holy the devil is very upset after Jesus was baptized the devil came after him in the wilderness after the children of Israel went through the Red Sea they were attacked from behind by the amalekites its normal procedure for the devil to be threatened when you change teams so all who desire live Godly are going to suffer persecution Paul says in Acts Chapter 14 verse 22 Paul was strengthening The Souls of the disciples exhorting them to continue in the faith saying we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God you notice he didn't say we could or we may said we must through a few through many tribulations enter the kingdoms of God there are going to be a lot of challenges and problems in life uh don't get discouraged by it look at each one as an opportunity to grow to be more like Jesus and to be a witness to others you are training for the trophy you're working towards the gold it is just part of the Regiment of exercise of your Christian character that you might grow Victor E Frankel said a man can endure almost any suffering if he sees a purpose or a meaning in it if you understand that God has a purpose in it that you're going to reap the benefits from it and you've probably heard this illustration use that ad nauseam but it's a muscle you know and if you want to see an improvement in your strength or in your muscles you've got to exercise the exercise I mean a few things are more boring than weight lifting it really is you're not you're not getting any work done you just but as you're doing that something's happening and your body is getting stronger and after a few days you can stand in front of the mirror with a total shame so look at that a new Ripple and and so there's a blessing that comes but you've got to just um you've got to endure the pain for the gain as they say in the gym you're going to have problems in life you are probably all experiencing various degrees of problems right now the reason job is a hero in the Bible is because he got hit with every possible problem all at once but almost everybody you've got problems in the family there may be financial problems you might have physical problems there can be all kinds of different problems we grapple with but God can use each of these in shaping you if you embrace it now I'm going to talk about 10 ways that we can convert our trials into Triumph because this is a two-part series I'll probably only get through half of that now but um first of all recognize our spiritual need one reason God allows trials is so that we can recognize become aware of our spiritual needs second chronicles 32 verse 31 it says God withdrew from him King Hezekiah in order to test him that he might know what was in his heart now is is that so God could know what was in hezekiah's heart or does Hezekiah or does God know everything God knows everything sometimes God uses this wording it's like God came down to Abraham and said I've sent two angels to Sodom to find out if what I've heard is true or God knows everything nothing takes him by surprise but um was it so God could find out what was in hezekiah's heart or Hezekiah could find out what was in his heart you know if you want to discover what's in a vessel bump it sometimes you gotta bump something to find out what's inside sometimes God will have to shake us up a little bit and we discover what's going on we didn't know Exodus 9 27 and Pharaoh said to them I have sinned this time the Lord is righteous and my people are wicked what brought pharaoh to that confession it was the tribulation of the plagues he saw he said I and my people are wicked he became aware of it and he could have repented then but he hardened his heart but it was in the context of the trials he finally came to the point of realizing on the problem sometimes that's what it takes second Corinthians 2 14 Paul says now thanks be to God who always leads us in Triumph in Christ through and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place how does God defuse that fragrance you know if you want to smell a flower or some herb you don't just take it and sniff it you can but if you really want to smell it you crush it you want to know have you ever picked Mint or something in your garden and you want to say hey smell this this is great you take a piece of that Sage of that and you just break it or you crush it and then you can really smell it you can't really appreciate a skunk till you run it over once or twice have you noticed that it's under those trials that they really the fragrance comes out making sure you're listening Psalm 30 verse 5 for his anger is but for a moment his favor for Life weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning you might have some nights of mourning before you have your morning of joy if you'll pardon to play on words there so one thing of course is to recognize that God is helping us become aware of our spiritual needs and that's a blessing that's a good thing we should thank him for something else is we learn humility through our trials you know we're never more like the devil than when we're proud and sometimes God needs to Humble us Christ was Meek and humble and that's what it means to be christ-like and it's often in our trials we realize our pride in the trials sometimes bring us to our knees Deuteronomy 8 3 so he humbled you he allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna that you did not know and nor did your fathers know that he might make you know that man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord they went through trials they got hungry in the wilderness they got thirsty before they could really appreciate the blessings someone said that um whenever their mother was going to spank them she'd get a switch and he discovered that if he would hug his mother when she was spanking him that it lessened the blow if he drew close you get further away you got that centrifugal force it hurts a lot more and he just pulled right into his mother and hug her and she just couldn't get enough momentum to hurt very much so draw near the one who holds the rod and it will lessen the blow Embrace what humbles you if you're going through some humbling situation if someone's got some criticism for you take it in listen evaluate it say well thank you for that and it's so much easier if you humble yourself and you learn from these things Ezra 8 21 then I Proclaim to fast there at the river Avila that we might humble ourselves before our God Matthew 26 75 remember Peter before the uh the trial of Christ he said this night you're all going to forsake me and Peter jumped up and said with all these forsake you I will not forsake you and Jesus said Peter you don't know yourself very well before the rooster crows two times you will deny me three times and he needed to go through a very humbling experience of seeing Christ being beaten in the Judgment Hall then looking at him and he went out and he went bitterly and he realized I don't know myself very well I'm not as strong as I thought I was when we were in Australia we're standing at the table afterward and we're shaking hands with all these young people that came to the ayc meeting and this this young man wearing one of the Australian hats Ellie may have been 16 years old he came up and he said can I arm wrestle you and I thought that's a strange request and he had his buddies around him they were all saying oh no no arm wrestle him and I I thought you know I like to engage with the kids and so I said all right well let's not wait to say let me feel your muscles come here for a second because the last thing you want to do is get beat by a 16 year old right so I felt this muscle man they got the hardest rocks so he said no arm wrestle Pastor Ross what's up but then I thought about it again I said okay come on he really wanted to arm wrestle me man I put everything I had into trying to just keep my arm up and finally the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak and he put my arm down this kid was tough and I should have known when they when they ask you that it's because it's a setup you know whenever someone comes to you and says hey I got a bet for you don't bet and you know I thought I kind of hurt my pride a little bit this kid made me arm wrestling I thought well that's probably good for you Doug and you got to embrace what humbles you and the Lord is always trying to teach us through these things someone said if you're on a mountain and there's lightning it's a good idea to make yourself as small as possible right I remember years ago I was with some friends we had a terrible freeze in California and the river the Eel River froze which it never it's never done it since then but it froze all the way across and that day I was visiting a friend who lived right on the river and a bunch of us were together we were playing this game all the guys of course and we want to say I dare you to see even get across the river without breaking through the ice well the ice was not that thick a matter of fact places it was kind of weird because it was so clear even though it was frozen you could see the leaves floating by underneath so it was like glass and several of the guys tried to get across the river and they'd get halfway and they'd fall through but it would only be like up to their waist because then they'd hit the rocks and they'd come scrambling out cold and wet we'd all laugh and I couldn't resist the challenge I said I think I can make it across I got down on all fours spread my weight out went across kind of like a crab you know made it to the other side sometimes the only way you're going to get across is you got to get on your knees and the way to get through your trials you got to get down humble yourself draw near to the one that holds the rod you know and if God's trying to teach you humility let's get it over with as quick as possible another reason God allows trials and we can turn him into Triumph is get our priorities straight you remember the story Genesis 22 God says to Abraham take your son your only son who you love bring him to the mountains and offer him to me and Abraham said oh yeah Lord I love you with all of my heart my soul my strength but I've been waiting for a son for a long time and I really love Isaac you notice how God worded he said take your son your only son who you love do you love him more than me and offer him and Abraham as we know passed the test he was willing to give up the thing on earth he loved the most because he loved God more if there's anything on Earth that you love more than God you're going to find that'll be the point of testing at some time God is going to have to teach us to let go of it and to get our priorities right a seeking first his kingdom you know jephthah went through a similar challenge he made sort of a reckless vow he said Lord give me victory in this battle and whatever comes through my Gates when I come home he thought it was going to be his goat or sheep or his family cow that would come out to meet him his daughter came out said I'll offer it to you he had one child that was his daughter God said did you mean it and he did now he didn't offer us a burnt offering he sent her to the temple and she was dedicated to the Lord never got married and something like Anna in the New Testament but it was a test to prioritize Psalm 11 verse 5 the Lord tests the righteous and when you're going through these trials they often get you on your knees and it will test your prayer life do not make an idol of anything or anyone or it will be the source of a test Point number four God allows us to go through tests and you can turn your trials to Triumph they come to separate us from sin God wants to save us from sin and sometimes if you want to separate the dross from the gold or the silver you've got to heat it up and we go through these fiery trials Peter said do not be amazed as though some strange thing has happened unto you that but know that the testing of your faith is more precious than gold or silver that though it is tried in the fire it comes forth sparkling and pure because it's been through that trial first Peter 4 verse one and two therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh arm yourself also with the same mind for he who has suffered In the Flesh has ceased from sin now that doesn't mean you flog yourself so you can cease from sin but it's often true that when we realize the consequences of sin it helps us gain the Victory and sometimes we will struggle and suffer and it's giving us the power and the Victory to prioritize that he might save us from our sins Hebrews 12 verse 10. for they our Earthly parents might chasten us indeed for a few days as seen best to them but for our Prophet that we might be partakers of his Holiness why do we go through chastening though we might be partakers of his Holiness to be like Jesus so often the trials that you go through you may be going through trials in relationships and you say oh this person is unbearable how can I live with them anymore and they may be a member of your family or your spouse well the lord loves you in spite of your sin and he's teaching you to love and he's teaching you to forgive and he's teaching you to be like Jesus through the trials in the relationships it is easy to love lovable people anyone can do it it's a little more challenging to love them when they're not lovable amen so you might be going through that because he's saving you from your selfishness and your sin you know if you are ever in a place where you must drink water and the water is suspect to bacteria you boil it and that's how you get the bacteria purified and God needs to sometimes uh boil us so to speak Clean us up and then my final point this morning is God sometimes allows us to go through trials simply to wake us up he's just plain old gotta get our attention and everything is cruising along and we might be living in this laodicean self-deception and we think everything is okey-dokey and his Inky stinky and we don't know it we think we're rich and increased with goods and don't know that we have need of anything we don't know that God sees us as poor wretched miserable blind naked and we're sleeping on our way to destruction you know the story of Peter in prison and he was chained between two guards Acts chapter 12 and he's going to be executed the next day he's sleeping on his way to execution like Jonah sleeping before he's about to be thrown overboard sleeping through the storm it describes many in the last days like the ten virgins asleep at that critical moment before the bridegroom comes and God needs to wake us up Acts 12 7 and behold the angel of the Lord stood by him and light Shone in the prison and he struck Peter on the side so you might be struck and you think why did that happen but you know if it's an angel it could be a strike of Mercy to save you the Bible says in the end of this chapter the angel of the Lord struck Herod and he died you got two different ways Herod had turned from God he was struck by the angel it killed him he was eaten by worms Peter on the other hand he wanted to serve the Lord the angel struck him in Mercy to wake him up and get him out of prison to save him from his sins sometimes God has to do something radical to get our attention I don't know if anyone here is old enough to remember they used to have an advertising campaign from Menon aftershave and I just remember one commercial in particular where this pilot falls asleep at the controls and the plane is in a nosedive and it's hitting for the ground and don't start playing yet I'm not ready and it's it's hitting for the ground and the co-pilot sees that the pilot has gone to sleep and he splashes some men in aftershave on his hands and he smacks him and he shakes himself awake and he goes thanks I needed that anyone remember that yeah a couple of people yeah my friends and I saw that we went around smacking each other and then you were supposed to say thanks I needed that we thought it was great to wake us up and sometimes we need to say Lord thanks I needed that to get our attention he wants to wake us up to save us you know it's a story that has been told many times and I think it Bears repeating I'll add something that most people don't know there's a hymn that we're about to sing in closing and it's called it Is Well with My Soul now that was written by Horatio Gates spafford and he wrote it in about 1873 now here's the story behind that a spafford was an attorney worked in Chicago dedicated Christian Elder in the church taught Sunday school good friends with D.L Moody the famous evangelist he was very successful owned a lot of property around Chicago but then in 1871 the Chicago Fire swept through the city destroyed a great swath of the city I think 300 people perished in the fire and it wiped out most of his properties in spite of that he and his wife Anna gave a lot of what they had left to help those who were suffering from the fire well then there was a stock market crash in 1873 that took him down even further he thought well you know we need to try and get a new beginning Dwight Moody and Iris think he were in England doing an Evangelistic program and um Horatio was friends of Moody and he told his wife he said let's go join them we need to maybe take a little vacation for our nerves we've been through a lot and so he sent his wife and his four daughters on ahead of him on a ship because he had to tie up some loose ends with real estate and he said I will meet you there in England on the way over in 1873 the ship that they were on out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean not too far from where the Titanic was struck was hit by an iron sailboat from Scotland that pretty much cut their ship in half and 226 of the passengers on this ship called The Villages was the vessel they were on died right after the Collision Anna gathered her children from their birth brought them up on Deck knelt and prayed with him that they might have peace with God they all fully expected to die a Lifeboat was put down from the other ship and in rowing by the wreck they saw that there was a woman unconscious on a plank and it turned out to be Anna she was brought back to England and they had Telegraph back then she telegraphed back to her husband eventually saved alone all of his daughters were lost and she wanted to know what to do he said stay there he got on a ship as quickly as he could was crossing the ocean and right about the point where they were crossing where his family and the other boat had gone down the captain said just as a point of Interest this is the spot where the Collision took place and he went up on the deck he said a prayer then he went down to his room and he penned the poem It Is Well with My Soul though peace like a river attends my way though sorrow-like sea Billows roll whatever my lot you have taught me to say it is well it Is Well with My Soul he got to England was reunited with his wife Anna they joined the Moody's came to comfort them and said that they were encouraged by their faith they said this is all in God's hands God knows what he's doing we don't understand it we trust him and we will understand some way they had three more children together they had a little boy named Horatio who died of scarlet fever and then Horatio and his wife they went through an interesting change they became very obsessed with the second coming I guess you could say they were Adventists they became part of a Messianic group they moved to Israel they stopped believing in an Ever burning hell and they started a group in Jerusalem called the American Council and it was something like a kibbutza commune and Christians came and they said they were going to minister to Christians to Jews to Muslims and they gained International Trust in that City for being just a loving Christian people that anybody could turn to well Horatio died of malaria there the group continued for some time eventually the building that they used where their their quarters was uh remodeled they turned it into a hotel and that hotel is where the Peace Accords were signed between the Israel and the Arab Nations it's a very interesting story you're not going to find in your Hymnal another song by Horatio spafford as far as I know it's the only song he ever wrote he didn't really write it as a song he wrote it as a poem um later when he showed the poem to Ira senki and PP Bliss blissett let me write some music for that now Philip Bliss if you look in your Hymnal he's got hold the fort Almost Persuaded hallelujah what a savior let the Lower Lights be burning wonderful words of life and he wrote with Horatio It Is Well with My Soul later PP Bliss was in a train accident with his wife he escaped but he could not get out the train caught on fire and he went back and stayed at his wife's side and died with her in the Flames he would not leave her seems like you the tragedies and you think why do these trials and these tragedies happen you know if you have your life in God's hands whatever happens circumstantially it cannot Rob your joy it can still be well with your soul you know he only wrote this one song but that song has been sung by millions you go online go to YouTube see how many people have recorded the song it was inspired and God wants us to know that whatever you might be going through is it well with your soul whatever your trials are Peter says cast your cares upon him because he cares for you God wants to turn your trials into an ultimate Triumph amen

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Length: 40min 21sec (2421 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 20 2023