Enduring Trials: Hope and Restoration in Christ

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Verse 10, and after you have suffered a little while, and after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, with himself, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [00:04:37]

After this and after that, there is hope for you. I don't know what you're after this and you're after that is, but just know, my brothers and sisters, that there is hope for you. Yes, there is hope for you because God is hope. Hope for today. Hope for beyond tomorrow. Knowing that things of this world... [00:05:18]

That's the kind of God that we serve. He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me that I am his own. [00:05:55]

We know that Satan's job is to kill, steal, and destroy by any means necessary. [00:06:25]

He doesn't care about your title. He doesn't care about your address. He doesn't care about your family makeup. [00:06:34]

We are to stand firm in our faith, having the confidence that God is with us always. Satan is defeated. We fight from victory, not to gain victory. [00:07:35]

In our last section of verse 9, we see here that other brotherhood or other people of the church are going through suffering. We want to recognize that there is a shared experience. [00:07:54]

when we suffer that's why it's so important for us not to look down on our brothers and sisters because we all are going through something we are to courage one another to keep going and guess what that's called perseverance my second point embrace God's promises it says in verse 10 after you suffered for a little while after you have suffered for a little while say a little while just like when you tell your kids I'll be there in a little while they're like mommy you take it forever right just a little while knowing that that word a little while is temporary it's just for a season so after you have suffered after the heartache after the discipline [00:08:10]

after the divorce, after the eviction, after the loss of a job, after they have talked about you like a dirty dog, call you all kind of names that's for a child of God, after, after you have suffered, after you have gone through for a little while, you must endure the suffering. [00:09:13]

Romans 5 35 says it like this, not only that but we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Again, that word a little while, it's temporary, it's short time, it doesn't last very long, it's puny, it's tiny, it's only for a season. We don't know exactly when it will end but will come, it will come. [00:09:39]

Catherine but I've been telling with this issue for seven years and I've been dealing with that and this and all the things but guess what when we think about our situation it's only short compared with eternity it's only light when it could and when it's compared to the eternal the eternal weight of glory and so when we look at first Peter in 6 through 7 it says in this we rejoice greatly even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials so that the genuineness the genuineness of your faith which is much more precious than gold which is perishable even though or even though through the testing and period purified by fire may be found to the result in your praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ to sum it up [00:10:29]

means your faith is more important than gold because gold is temporary your faith is permanent your faith is going to lead you to heaven with God in his kingdom as we continue to look at that verse 10 it said the God of all grace the one who gives you unmerited favor freely given to us to face any problem trial or concern because of him we can make it because the God of grace is with us he gives it to us it's not what we deserve but he freely gives it to you he has called you to his eternal glory I'm still in verse 10 called you summons you he invited you in you were handpicked for his purpose to fulfill his prompt his purpose it was all intentional [00:11:35]

so he's calling us to share in his eternal kingdom in his kingdom there will be joy there will be peace love for eternity revelation 21 and 4 says he will wipe every tear from your eyes and he and the death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the form of things have been passed away so what we're experiencing right now we're not going to experience when the time comes that is good news y 'all should have shouted on that that's good news to know that there's an end date to our suffering to our hardship to our pain yes we're going through it but guess what it's the testing god is trying to remove some things from our life but we have to go through sometimes we don't want to go through but we got to go through because guess what [00:12:44]

God suffered and so are we. We're going to have to suffer. [00:13:47]

So there's four things, and I'll be out of your way this morning, I promise, that he is going to do. It says in verse 10, he said, he will restore you. Say, restore you. Okay. He's bringing you back to wholeness. He's mending those broken pieces of your life, piece by piece. [00:13:54]

He's putting you all back together again because that's how valuable you are to him. Have you ever had something that was broken and you kind of threw it away? Guess what? That's not the kind of God that we serve. [00:14:18]

He sees us as valuable. We're broken into pieces, but he's putting us back together again because we're important. He can't just throw us away. Because he loves us. [00:14:32]

in our mother's womb he knew us he knew all about us and guess what he knows everything that you're going through he will confirm and strengthen you he's making you firm he's adding stability to you that means he's putting a balance in you that when you move try to move to the left or to the right you're stable you're still going you're moving forward no matter what comes or goes he is adding stability to you so you can keep going he's making you aware he's making you aware that you belong to him because the evidence of your suffering there's evidence in your suffering when we suffer for Christ there's people that don't like you because you are a child of God [00:14:50]

And last, he will establish you, providing you a solid foundation in him. [00:15:59]

There's materials that are needed to make it strong, durable, and resistance to various environmental factors. [00:16:16]

You need the proper sizing and connection. You need an expert who knows what they're doing. So you just can't ask anybody to build you a house. You wanna ask somebody who has some expertise. [00:16:25]

I know he knows exactly what I need. He knows how much to give me and what to hold back. He knows when to tell me certain things and when not to tell me certain things. He knows just how much I can bear. He knows the beginning and the end. He's called Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. His name, if you're wondering this morning, his name is Jesus. [00:16:59]

Jesus is our hope and a firm foundation. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, this solid rock I stand. All of the ground is sinking sand. All of the ground is sinking sand. Hallelujah. [00:17:24]