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The First Epistle of Peter, chapter one, verse 6. Aquarian.
He greatly rejoiced, though now for a season if need be, he are in heaviness to manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precise than a goal that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, He loved.
In whom though now ye see him not yet believing?
You rejoice with joy, unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired is searched diligently, testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they'd administer the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into.
Wherefore girdeth the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning themselves according to the former lust in your ignorance.
But as he which has called you as holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.
And if you call on a father who, without respected persons, judges according to every man's work.
Past the time of your soul journey here in fear, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Father, but were the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.
But was manifesting these last times for you who by him to believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory. Let your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing you have purified your souls, and obeying the truth through the Spirit, under unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not a corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
For all fleshes and grass, and all the glory of man, of the flower of grass, the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever.
And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.
Marks were made yesterday.
Of about the full salvation we have in Christ, not only the salvation of our souls that we're looking for, the redemption of our bodies.
And also being saved out of this world of sin and sorrow.
Well, in view of that salvation looked at in all its fullness, Peter tells us here wherein ye greatly rejoice.
And we should be constantly, continually rejoicing in thoughts of such a wonderful, amazing salvation, good and all its extent and greatness.
And the Saints were rejoicing in it, though, as he tells them. Here, though, for a season if needs be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.
Full temptation is literally the many college temptations. If we turn over to the 4th chapter of First Peter 10th 1St, we get the many colored again.
The 4th chapter in the 10th verse. As every man hath received the gift, Even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. So it's very comforting and very cheering when we remember how we are beset on every side with manifold temptations.
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The same book tells us of the manifold grace.
That meets the temptations, I suppose. There's the right kind, the right courage, grace to meet the wrong colored temptation every time.
Comforting thought that regardless of how much trial we pass through down here in this scene, and we may be facing far more trials than we've ever passed through before, but we always have this to cure the heart and that is that they're only for a season.
The poor world has nothing except darkness, death before them. The Christian has the assurance and the blessed hope that the Lord is coming soon. So even in times when one is suffering.
A real bodily affliction and going through many and various trials. Yet he knows that in a little while it's all over.
And that he has positively gained blessings of for eternity because he was permitted to pass through this trial.
Of an example of this too, in the apostle Paul, he was given are born in the flesh, and he and his all human wisdom was beseech God that he might be rid of this thorn in the flesh.
But as our brother Willis points out, for that thorn in the flesh the Lord said to him, My grace is sufficient for thee.
All right, it's interesting to compare that with the attitude of others who also passed through trial at troubles times. In the case of Naomi, she said. The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. What a sad attitude when a believer looks at that which the Lord allows with such an attitude.
The Almighty has felt very bitterly with me. Job, on the other hand, said. Shall we not receive good from the hand of the Lord, and not also evil?
In other words, part of what I receive is good and part of what I receive is evil. Well, it's a little improvement on Naomi's viewpoint, but still it surely isn't what we ought to say, that some of the Lords dealings with me are good and some are evil. So I'll just have to accept both. I think the Apostle Paul's attitude, as we were reminded, is so honoring to God.
That is, it was definitely a thorn in the flesh. He didn't just brace himself to ignore it, he recognized it for what it was.
But having received the manifold grace of God to meet it, he could go on and encourage others to rejoice in the Lord always. He doesn't speak of the Lord being dealing with him bitterly, nor does he say part of my pathway has been set with good and part with evil. But he looks up from the very difficult trials that he passed through and rejoiced. Well, he used to say, there's never a trial.
But there is a needs beyond our part.
And the purpose of love on God's part.
And that's something to recognize that there is a need to be or God in the years wondrous wisdom would not have permitted it.
I remember hearing our brother Potter tell a sister who was terribly afflicted.
He had arthritis until her legs were drawn up and she couldn't straighten out in bed.
For years she suffered in that condition.
He went to visit her one time. He read these verses to her.
And then he looked at her and he said, sister, is there a needs be? At first she was very much annoyed and and.
Offended over it, but after a few moments consideration her eyes dropped and she nodded her head. Yes, yes there was a need speech and you know beloved, that the submitting and bowing to the will of God.
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Producers, one of the greatest possible blessings in our lives.
Something like the Lord speaking to the Father in the 17th of John.
He says I am glorified in them.
Perhaps God was more glorified than that, their sister bowing to his will, than the brother out preaching the gospel.
Or a brother out preaching the gospel. It's certain attention and recognition from his brethren. Well, we can know that the one who is bowed down with trial and suffering.
Is not getting recognition.
Far and wide, but bowing to the will of God, the Lord says I am glorified in them. And isn't that wonderful to be glorified?
To bring glory to that blessed one. But you know the Lord doesn't say that to the ones who are going through it. He tells it about them.
Ask Brother Willis if the manifold.
You've mentioned all the many colors in connection with two thoughts, the trials and grace. What about that word in Ephesians 3? Manifold wisdom of God that also the same?
Many callers.
The first is the intent of now onto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God, verse 10.
All buried. I think it's the same.
Same I think is the Joseph coat of many colleagues.
Mentioned that in the 6th incident of Exodus we find God's purposes for the people of Israel. He redeemed them. He was bringing them out of Egypt and he was going to put them in the land. There's nothing about the wilderness in Exodus 66 to 8. It's all God's purposes there. And in the 8th chapter two of the book of Romans we find that God justifies you and I and He's glorified us.
There is nothing about the wilderness, but the wilderness is there in the ways of God. And so we find ourselves through this epistle of Peter, we're in the wilderness, we are redeemed, we're the elect of God, we are sanctified. We have the sprinkling of the blood wrong, the way to glory. But there's the wilderness in between. And it's what? Deuteronomy, the 8th chapter.
It's in the wilderness that we find out.
What feeble creatures we are, how failing, but also we find in that wilderness scene the all abounding grace of our God. Well, dear ones, the Lord God, our Father, He has a he has a pattern. He has a pattern. He wants to form Christ.
In you and I and what the Crucible is to the gold in that the fire is refined, the fire is heated there to burn away the dross. You and I just have a little bit too much dross in our lives and our walk in our ways. And God wants us to be like Christ. And so in this wilderness scene, God is going to heat the fire. But all we have this comfort, don't we? From first Corinthians chapter 10.
There hath no trial or temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. In other words, God knows exactly your makeup and mine. He won't heat the fire.
One with more than it's necessary. That we can stand, that we can bear.
He doesn't want to drown us as it were, but all he wants Christ for him in your life and mine, so all to submit, to submit to the ways of God in this wilderness scene.
Saying, Brother, that the verse says here wherein ye greatly rejoice till now for a season, if need be, ye may.
If need, if need be, are in heaviness through manifold temptation. Well, how long is the is the trial? How long is this going to last? Not forever. It's just for the pathway, isn't it? I was thinking of the times of Elijah when God called for a famine upon the land.
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It was God who called for the family, but he limited it. It was only seven days, it says seven or seven years. There was a limit and I was thinking two of the of the Saints at Thyatira, remember.
The in the Revelation 9 two and verse 9.
The 10 there was tribulation 1010 days. God limits this, doesn't he? It's not forever. It's a comfort to our souls to know that the trial is now. The trials are just for a season.
They're not forever. Wasn't it three years and 1/2?
The famine Time of the Light, Elijah, 8th chapter in the first verse.
In the 5th chapter of our book, first Peter 5:00 and 10:00 But the God of all grace, who have called us unto his eternal glory.
That's the extent of the glory, unlimited, eternal by Christ Jesus. After that ye have suffered a while.
A while, a while, in contrast, the eternal glory.
We could refer to Hebrews chapter 12 in connection with these trials in Hebrews 12 and verse 5.
Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou in rebuke of Him.
It's been mentioned that God has his purpose in these trials, which He allows to come to us, but how easy it is for us to either ignore the trial, despise them on the one hand, or to faint under them on the other hand.
Either as the world has the expression, we can print and ferret.
That's a favorite expression of the world.
Or we can say, well, God has put me under trial and so what's the use? I might as well give up.
So these are not the desire of God. But if we turn to the 11Th verse of this chapter.
There we find where blessing comes in in trial.
Now not chasing me for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
God expects us to be exercised and to fail the trial that He allows us to pass through.
He expects us to seek His mind as to the purpose for it.
I remember I've mentioned this before, that there was a brother who had an automobile accident one time in our city.
We went to visit him in the hospital.
And he said, Will you please pray the Lord that he might let me know why I've had this accident?
Well, that speaks of a healthy state of soul under trial.
And the result, if we are exercising seek the mind of the Lord, the result is the peaceable fruit, righteousness.
To them that are exercised thereby, well, how blessed it is when we are in trial and each one of it is.
That we seek the mind of the Lord as to it, and to seek to learn His purpose through it all.
I've enjoyed lately the words of Hezekiah after he was recovered.
In Isaiah 38, you'll probably remember the verses.
Oh Lord, by these things men leave live, and by all these is the life of my spirit, so God allows them for the growth of our spiritual.
Temperament our spiritual state if we're exercised but thereby.
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And.
So we we lived in the sense that these things are sent for a good purpose. Many years ago, in the First World War, I went to a prison to see a young brother who had been sent to jail on account of being a conscientious objective. And I tried to think up something that would comfort him, and I got there.
But when I found, when I got to him, I found it wasn't he who needed the comforting, it was I. And he said, you know, he said, I've been having such a glorious time here. I've been reading the 4th, 2nd class of the 2nd Corinthians. And he said it's just a pair of weighing scales there. And he, he read it to me.
The 17th verse, our late affliction, they said it's on the one side of the wing scales. It's right afflictions.
And we go on to the 18th verse, we get the exceeding weight of glory, the 70 end of the 17th verse to get the exceeding weight of glory. And the light affliction is but for a moment, but the exceeding weight of glory is eternal. It's a beautiful thing to see the weighing scales there.
And.
There the the the the the light affliction, but for a moment.
The exceeding weight of glory eternal. But more could be asked for. Quite a bit of light affliction too, from that man, wasn't it? He was taken outside. Was it a Derby or Lystra? When he visited there? Paul. And while he was stoned and then dragged out and left for dead, he could tell them in Galatians that he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. He was, he was.
Beaten with sticks and he was, he was left for dead, stoned and all of that, he says. I was reading it to the children one time.
And going through Acts and I said, now I said when Paul the Lord revived him there, I said, he said, I'm not going to tell anybody else about the Lord Jesus Christ. This is too hard a pathway for me. I'm going to go back and so I said Brian and Brendan did the did Paul say that and they.
Shook their head. Now he didn't say that, but he went right back, right back to the very city in which he'd been stoned to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, he says our light affliction. I don't know that I would want too much of that light affliction. But whatever the Lord orders for us in our life, he'll give us the grace to stand it.
When we turn to the 119th sound, I think there's some.
3 verses I would like to read in this connection. Psalm 119.
First verse will be verse 67.
Psalm 100 and 1967.
Before I was afflicted.
I went astray.
But now have I kept thy word. Now go down to the 71St verse.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. And then the 75th verse. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that Thou in thy faithfulness hast afflicted me. I've enjoyed this, brethren. It's a needs be, isn't it?
It was in His faithfulness. It's in his faithfulness that He has brought the affliction.
After, as we had yesterday, brought before us our strangership.
Now we get one who felt his strangership and his being a displaced person.
In the circumstances in which he was found, and he reckons the reproach of Christ.
Greater than the.
Little Hebrews there esteeming a reproach of Christ, greater riches than the trashes in Egypt, of these trials that we have in this chapter, are in view of coming glory.
Now young folks who want among us want to be identified.
And dear one, let us be identified with a rejected Christ and when we are we will suffer persecution. And this is what is crossed the forest here, identification with Christ and the realization of our strangership in this scene. Now we have in the second chapter.
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Something very practical in the 11Th verse.
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
A battle or a skirmish is just for a little while. A war is a continuous thing, and this is something that the Christians going through the scene suffers for, but it's just for a little while. These trials here are not because of our unfaithfulness.
But because of our lack of faith.
I should say these trials here are because of our identification with a rejected Christ. But we have this before us, the coming glory. He's going to be vindicated.
Be on His side. It doesn't cost anything to be faithful in the heyday, but in the day of rejection we are going to suffer reproach. But let us count as greater riches than what the world is offering. And this is the.
The trial that we have before us in this chapter.
Trial of faith, isn't it?
God gives the faith, and then he puts that faith through trials and testings.
And we need to remember that when some sorrow comes into our lives and we can't understand why God has permitted this trial.
That if we could know, if we could understand fully why this is permitted, it wouldn't be a trial of faith, the very fact that it is something we don't understand.
From a very sorely afflicted in their bodies.
And the sufferer and maybe wonder why others can go on so well without the strong bodies, healthy and one might say, while I'm stricken in this way. Well, the very fact that they don't understand it shows that it is definitely a trial of faith.
Putting faith into exercise.
Wonderful, isn't it, to think of what Paul speaks to the Thessalonians Saints about that your faith?
Growth exceedingly, and faith doesn't grow in times of prosperity in the same way that it grows in times of adversity.
And God knows that better than we know it. And so he allows adversity and trials, as it says here, manifold trials where everyone is not tried in the same way.
One may be here with weakness of body, like our sister Mrs. Vladimir, like our brother London at this time he's allowing them to feel physical weakness. Another it may be in their their circumstances someone may have lost a job.
And Mueller may have had a financial crisis and maybe lost their home and so on. How many and how varied are these?
Trials. But out of them all, we learned this most important lesson from this verse.
The trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found on a praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Will use gold as a standard of wealth.
And the more one can accumulate of this world's wealth, the more he has looked upon as a prosperous man.
But here is something that the apostle speaks of.
Has much more precious.
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So the greatest prosperity in this world can never be compared to this trial of faith.