Understanding Trials and Persecution in the Christian Life
Embracing the challenges of difficult times as an inevitable part of the Christian journey, the Bible study delves into the concept of trials and suffering, drawing parallels to the process of an oyster creating a pearl. Through scriptural insights and reflections, it explores how trials strengthen faith, reminding believers of Christ's sufferings and the ultimate glory that awaits those who endure with steadfastness.
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SIMON TEMPLE AME ZION CHURCH BIBLE STUDY PASTOR: BISHOP BRIAN R. THOMPSON SR. SUBJECT: DIFFICULT TIMES ARE A PART OF THE CHRISTIAN S LIFE FACILITATOR: DR. LEON B. NEWTON SCRIPTURE TO PONDER: 2 TIMOTHY 3:12 INDEED ALL WHO DELIGHT IN PIETY AND ARE DETERMINED TO LIVE A DEVOTED AND GODLY LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS WILL MEET WITH PERSECUTION [WILL BE MADE TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIGIOUS STAND] .
INTRODUCTION As one writer puts it, Oysters suffer affliction when they get a grain of sand stuck inside their shells. No matter what they do, they can t get rid of it. The sand gets stuck there and it s irritating to the oysters. It s a thorn. It drives them crazy. To bring comfort to their anguish, they begin covering the grain of sand with a smooth hard substance, over and over and over again. Covering the sand doesn t get rid of it; it just comforts them. Over time the covering of the grain of sand over and over again produces something that costs a mint. It s called a pearl. Do you know what a pearl is? A pearl is the result of an irritated oyster. Out of that came something women place great value on. The pain resulted in beauty. The pain resulted in elegance. The pain resulted in something of high value. When God allows us to suffer, he is producing something precious (Evans 944).
1. LIVING IN A FALLEN WORLD MEANS TOUGH TIMES ARE INEVITABLE! Genesis 3:17 (AMPC): And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life. Job 5:7 (AMPC): 7 But man is born to trouble as the sparks and the flames fly upward. Job 14:1-2 (AMPC): Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and withers; he flees also like a shadow and continues not.
2. TRIALS ARE TO BE EXPECTED AND REMIND US OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 1 Peter 4:12-13: Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly]. 2 Timothy 2:3: 3 Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus.
3. GOD ALLOWS TRIALS SO THAT OUR FAITH WILL BE STRENGTHENED! 1 Peter 1:6-7: [You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed. James 1:2-5 (AMPC): Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of [b]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
4. TRIALS ENABLE US TO DEVELOP INTO THE PERSON GOD WANT US TO BE. Job 23:8-10: Behold, I go forward [and to the east], but He is not there; I go backward [and to the west], but I cannot perceive Him; On the left hand [and to the north] where He works [I seek Him], but I cannot behold Him; He turns Himself to the right hand [and to the south], but I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].
5. THROUGH TRIALS WE ARE DRIVEN TO FOCUS MORE ON HEAVEN AND ETERNITY. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!] Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.
6. A POSSIBLE REASON FOR TRIALS IS GODS DISCIPLINE THAT MOVES US TO REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION OF SIN. Hebrews 12:10-11 (AMPC): 10 For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness. For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness in conformity to God s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
7. THE COMFORT GOD PROVIDES FOR US CAN BE PASSED ON TO HELP OTHERS. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (AMPC): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.
8. WE MUST RESPOND TO TRIALS BY RESTING IN GOD S PRESENCE AND STRENGTH WHICH IS CRUCIAL. Psalm 3:4-5: But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause,and calmly think of that]! Psalm 9:9-10: The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation). Jeremiah 33:3: 3 Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand). And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God s Word and the right of their necessity].
9. WE CAN TRUST GODS SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SUPPORT. Jeremiah 10:23: Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? 2 Timothy 4:17-18: But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the [Gospel] message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was delivered out of the jaws of the lion. Psalm 56:8: You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle are they not in Your book? [And indeed] the Lord will certainly deliver and [a]draw me to Himself from every assault of evil. He will preserve and bring me safe unto His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen (so be it).
10. GODS GRACE IS OUR SUFFICIENCY. COUNT ON IT! Psalm 55:22: Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). 2 Corinthians 12:9: But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [b]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [c]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
11. AS WE ARE STRONG THROUGH ADVERSITY, GOD S REWARD WILL BE EVIDENT. James 1:12: Blessed (happy, [c]to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
12. SOME PRACTICAL STEPS! Keep a daily prayer journal, noting your pain and struggles. Record answers as God responds. Every day, list items of thanksgiving. Seek out others going through trials; encourage them by listening to their journeys and praying faithfully for them. Memorize Philippians 4:6-7.Writer it on a card and keep it close at hand. Meditate on Romans 8:28 and write down a past difficult event in your life that God has used for good. Be open with other believers. Enlist them to empathize and pray for you. Center your Bible reading in the Psalms where the authors experienced adversity, see especially Psalm 12; 34; 46; 55; 73; 91; 121; 143; 145. Consider the response of each of the following people to their suffering: Job, Job 1:21; 2:10; James 5:11; Joseph, Genesis 37-50; David, 1 Samuel 19-30; Apostles, Acts 5:27-42.
RESOURCE FOR THIS LESSON Miller, Keith R. Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling Men. Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids MI: 2014, pp. 297-300.
