Transformed by Trouble

Transformed by Trouble

1. Introduction

a. A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Sunday School. As she ran, she prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! Please don't let me be late!" As she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. As she ran, once again she began to pray, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! But please don't shove me again either.".

b. Today’s sermon is about being transformed by trouble. This little girl sounds a lot like most of us, we pray for God’s help in achieving something in life, and then we are beset by troubles that try to keep us from reaching our goals the way we want to.

2. Review – we have been dealing with the Purpose Driven Life, which deals with discovering and living out the purposes for which you and I were created.

a. Some of you may be struggling with this concept of “discovering your purpose.”

i. It isn’t happening all at once.

ii. Po Bronson, author of the secularly based book “What should I do with my life” writes, “Most of us don’t get epiphanies. We don’t get clarity. Our purpose doesn’t arrive neatly packaged as destiny. We only get a whisper. A blank, nonspecific urge. That’s how it starts.”

iii. The process is to pay attention to God’s whisper. To look for His hand. To be ready to respond.

iv. Discovering and developing your destiny really occurs with the little things.

v. This reminds me of a quote: “Sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, and reap a destiny.”

vi. You might remember that a few weeks ago, we talked about being “transformed by truth.”

1. The mind is the battlefield of our soul.

2. Renewing our mind and bringing our thoughts into obedience to Christ are the first steps in the process of being transformed into the image of Christ.

3. Every action is preceded by a thought that we have dwelt upon.

b. Becoming like Christ is the third of the five purposes of the Purpose Driven Life

i. This is the process of developing a character that is Christlike. God desires us to become like Christ. But character change…requires a transformation in our lives…and most of the time, the tools God uses for this transformation makes us very uncomfortable.

ii. Rick Warren writes,

1. "Many Christians misinterpret Jesus' promise of the "abundant life" to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of your dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer. In a word, they expect the Christian life to be easy. They expect heaven on earth.

2. "This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. But God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality. "Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God's purposes, not vice versa."

iii. For us to become Christ-like…that is, for our character to be transformed, we must remember who is in charge and why we are here!

1. We are here for Him. (Planned for God’s pleasure)

2. And we are here for one another. (Formed for God’s family)

3. And we were created to become like Christ.

3. The trouble with transforming our character to become like Christ is that it is just about that: Trouble.

a. Kenneth L. Woodward, writing in The New York Times, declares that it is not the Jews who should be shocked by the movie “The Passion.

i. It is the Protestants and Evangelicals who have domesticated Jesus Christ and His message to meet our personal therapeutic desires.

ii. We want a life without trouble and our modern gospel has been preaching that somehow God is going to make Christians the wealthiest, happiest, most trouble free people on earth.

iii. That isn’t what my bible says!

1. My bible says that we are going to have troubles, and lots of them.

2. It says that life is nothing but one trouble after another.

b. Trouble comes in many forms and flavors.

i. You cannot protect yourself from trouble.

ii. Insulate yourself as much as you can, and it still finds you.

iii. Some trouble can be mild…a cold, an illness, children with ear infections.

iv. Some trouble can be unbearable…the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, a struggle to get up in the morning.

v. You and I live in a fallen world, in weak vessels with everyone else around us doing all they can to escape troubles as well.

vi. The bitter truth is that life is little more than one difficult trouble after another.

c. The key to trouble is not the problem itself, but how we respond to it.

i. How we respond to a problem has to do with where our focus is.

ii. 2 Cor 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ 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.

1. As long as we look at the visible stuff we will be frustrated, angry, prone to bitterness, likely to say, “No way” to God’s intervention.

a. It is this way for people who get bitter in life instead of better.

b. This is because they choose to focus upon the problem and their own wants and desires instead of looking outside of themselves.

2. But when we look at life’s troubles with spiritual eyes, we see God’s promises and God’s nature.

a. We are reminded in this of our first purpose…that we were created for God’s pleasure, not our own.

b. And we are reminded that the reward of eternity outweighs the pain of the temporary.

iii. Sometimes we look at someone else’s life and think, “Gee, they don’t have troubles like I do.”

1. But that isn’t true. Everyone suffers trouble.

a. John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

2. Our glance into the life of another person is momentary glimpse. It is rarely accurate.

a. If we were to take a long stare and hear their life history, we would be amazed at what others have endured.

b. This has happened as I have gotten to know many of you.

c. On first meeting someone, you think, “Gee, they seem to be getting along in life pretty good.

d. But then you hear their story, and wonder…How did they come through all that!

3. Another reason we might think they are immune to trouble is that they have dealt with their troubles in such a way that permitted them to overcome the challenge.

4. Yet another reason may be that they cover up and privatize their life to such a degree that no-one else can see their pain or their struggles.

a. I call this scar hiding, and believe that it benefits no-one.

d. Trouble can work for you or against you.

i. Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren”

ii. It doesn’t say,

1. “God causes everything to work out the way I want it to.”

2. “God causes everything to have a happy ending on earth.”

3. We live in a fallen world.

iii. “We know…” is not wishful or positive thinking.

1. It is a certainty based upon the truth that God is in control and that He loves us.

2. We grip this truth by faith.

3. Faith believes so that it can see, unbelief thinks it must first see in order to believe.

iv. “That God causes…” means that your life is not a random series of events.

1. There is a master plan.

2. We make mistakes but God never does.

v. “Everything…” means that God’s plan for your life includes ALL that happens to you and I.

1. Including your mistakes, your sins, your hurts.

2. Illness, debt, disaster, divorce, and even death.

vi. “To work together…For the good…”

1. The events of our lives are not isolated acts, they work together when God uses them.

2. Just like taking flour, oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and raw eggs. Imagine, any of those by themselves would be pretty distasteful. But together, in the hands of a baker, they can make a tasty cake.

3. If you will give God all your distasteful, unpleasant, painful and hard experiences,

a. He will blend them together for good.

4. This doesn’t say life will be good or pleasant. Much of our lives are surrounded by evil and pain.

5. God’s good means His plan and His purpose.

vii. “of those who love God and are called according to His purposes.”

1. This promise is only for God’s children.

2. It is not for everyone.

3. If you are living in opposition to God, and insist on being god of your own life, then the events of your life are in your hands.

4. And they will be random and painful and totally without meaning, just like your life will be.

viii. “according to His purpose” means to “become like His Son.” That is purpose #3

4. Building Christlike Character

a. To be made in the image of Christ, our character must be transformed as well.

i. Rick Warren describes character building as being an uncut gem that is struck by a small hammer and chisel…and if that doesn’t work, God uses a bigger hammer, and if that fails…a jackhammer. He will use whatever it takes to conform us into the image of His Son.

b. Knowing Christ is the key to becoming like Christ.

i. Joni Erikson Tada (who was paralyzed as a teen) says, “When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating him and quoting him and speaking about him. But on only in suffering will we KNOW Jesus.”

1. You'll never know that God is all you need until God is all you've got

a. When you are going through a tough time, it is in those times that you come to realize this truth.

b. God alone is able to carry you.

2. Your most profound and intimate experiences of God will be in your darkest days.

c. Every problem is a character building opportunity.

i. I recall feeling overwhelmed last week, and as I stood in the kitchen of our house, I complained to God about it. And God whispered to me, “Choose to rise above this challenge instead of being rolled over by it.” I did in that moment, and I didn’t think about it again.

ii. Romans 5:3-5 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

1. Exult: (greek=boast).

2. Tribulation means to “press together”

3. When was the last time you boasted about your tribulations and struggles?

a. It is something we rarely want to do when we are going through them…in fact, Paul’s writings are mostly reflections upon his troubles.

b. Our gratitude comes as we look back and see God’s hand on our lives.

iii. A silversmith was once asked, “how do you know when the silver you are smelting is pure enough to work with?” He replied, “when I can see my reflection in it.”

1. Can God see His reflection in you yet?

2. I certainly saw God’s reflection in Chalmers, in his suffering, I saw the character of Christ.

3. Can people see it in you?

4. When you have been refined by trials and trouble, what is inside of you is purified.

a. You know that when a trial comes, it shakes what is inside of us so that it comes out.

d. How to Steps:

i. Stay focused on God’s plan and not your pain or problem.

1. “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

2. Corrie Ten Boom, who suffered the loss of her family and was imprisoned in a Nazi Concentration Camp said, “If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within you will be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you will be at rest.”

ii. Your focus will determine your feelings. What you look at will determine how you respond. The secret to endurance is to remember that pain is temporary and our reward is eternal.

1. Rick Warren: “Because God is in control, accidents are just incidents in God’s plan for you.”

2. Don’t give in to short term thinking. Remember Romans 8:17-18, “If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.”

iii. Rejoice and give thanks.

1. Not thanks for the trouble, but thanks IN the trouble.

a. “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Th. 5:18)

b. God doesn’t expect you to be thankful for evil or for sin or for suffering. But He does want you to be thankful that He will use all the junk of life to fulfill His purposes and draw you to Himself.

c. We don’t rejoice over pain. We rejoice IN the Lord!

iv. Refuse to give up.

1. Endurance is the mark of a Christian.

2. The one common thread between the 7 churches that are mentioned in the book of Revelation is that of endurance. “He who perseveres to the end will receive a crown of life.”

3. You will know you are growing in endurance when your prayers during times of trouble become less “comfort me” kinds of prayers and more “conform me” kinds of prayers.

4. Ask God, “What can I learn from this difficult situation?” instead of “why me!”

e. Recap

i. All trouble has the power to transforms us, just as truth and error both transform us.

1. 2 weeks ago we learned that Truth and error both transform, depending upon WHAT you believe.

2. Trouble is different than truth though in this respect.

3. Trouble can transform you in one direction or the other, depending upon WHO you believe in. (and who you submit to)

ii. We must go back to Purpose #1 to understand this principle of how trouble can transform us into the image of Christ.

1. We are here on earth, not for our own selves, but to know and worship God, as a preparation for eternity.

2. If we are simply upon this earth to try to claw out the easiest life with the least amount of pain and suffering, to get all we can and can all we get, to live for the present…then trouble and suffering is the most terrible evil other than death.

3. But if we are here to know God, then we have to come face to face with the fact that suffering leads us to the ends of ourselves.

a. It is with this in mind that we come to realize that that God is our reason for existence…not ourselves. We are not the center of the universe.

iii. I know, sometimes we would like just a little less of the suffering, because sometimes our lives feel unbearable. And when we are going through pain, the last thing we want to hear is how God is going to use this tough time to lead us to trust Him and to become more like Him.

1. When you go through trouble, it's okay to say, "God, I don't like this." Or, "God, I want you to take it away.

2. That's what Jesus said. But more importantly, He surrendered to God's plan.

3. He said, "God, whatever fulfills your purpose for my life, that's what I want."

4. You and I need to approach the troubles of life in the same fashion.

5. You must learn to trust God completely.

6. So the next time you find yourself going through trials (which may be right now), just know God is teaching you to trust Him so that you can become more like His Son Jesus Christ.

iv. Let me give you a couple of things that will help you as you go through times of trouble. Number one, keep a spiritual journal. Not a diary.

1. A diary is merely the record of events for the day.

2. In a journal you are writing your thoughts and your prayers.

a. You're recording insights that you're learning.

b. Journaling can be a tremendous help, both now and down the road when you look back and read what God was doing in your life.

v. Henry Blackaby quote: “I have made a determination: no matter what the circumstances, I would never look at circumstances except against the backdrop of the cross.... Never allow my heart to question the love of God."

5. Scripture:

a. 2 Cor 4:8-9 “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, ^R139 but not despairing; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

b. 1 Peter 4:12-19 which deals with persecution and suffering for being a Christian. (It is not about suffering in general).

c. 2 Cor 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead”

i. Living bible: “We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us.”

d. Romans 8:18-19 “ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.