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HopeLives365

Christian Martin

Faith Tested: Understanding God’s Purpose in Trials

Thank you, Jack, for that beautiful piece, calling us to turn our eyes upon Jesus.

You know, I can't say that I've spent an entire night awake without sleeping.

The most recent took place actually last November on our mission trip to Guatemala.

We were doing the series and busy days, as you can only imagine.

Medical clinics, VBS, children's programs, evangelistic series at night.

So how in the world are we going to pull off hiking to the top of the highest volcano in the country of Guatemala?

And so after our evening meeting, we packed our bags as people tucked into bed, we put on our backpacks and headed up a volcano.

And we got to the peak at about 5.30 a.m.

When we got to the peak, we saw the sunrise, gorgeous, unforgettable moment.

And then we made our way all the way back down.

At 9.30 a.m., we reached the base, the bottom of the volcano.

But it took all night to go through this journey.

Oh, that was some years ago before this in college.

That's the other memory I have of staying up all night.

Because as you can guess, I had a paper due and I had to stay up until it got done.

It got done all right as the sun was coming up.

And so I took a cold shower and headed off to class.

And then the other memories I've had are when I was actually even younger than that, doing the good old Vigilia.

For those from Spanish-speaking churches or background, you know what I'm talking about, the Vigilia.

And I grew up attending several Vigilias.

And so what we're doing tonight, I know, it's not something that any of us do often.

There is a time for everything under the sun.

There is a time to be together in prayer all night.

This is a lot more serious than just another college test.

We're preparing for the ultimate test that's coming.

And we're not just on a journey climbing, hiking up volcanoes.

We're on the greatest journey of all, the journey of faith, the Christian journey.

And today, tonight rather, we're gonna experience an all-night experience that will include not just prayer but Bible study, we're gonna wrestle with God, we're gonna have time to pray together as well as individually.

I'm just sharing with you from my heart because I know that this will be an experience that could be life changing.

It could change the trajectory and the direction your life is going Because you'll never forget this experience.

And as youth, you'll be talking about this for the rest of your life, believe me.

And so today, we recognize the end of the 10 days of prayer.

And we're gonna talk about a subject that is relevant, I believe, to all of us, because we're all on a journey.

And we admit that even when we've come closest to God, that's when the temperature has gone up.

The trials have become even more challenging.

Let's bow our heads together as we consider the topic, faith tested, understanding God's purpose in trials.

Father in heaven, today, Lord, we thank you that you brought us to your presence.

We're gonna touch on a subject that is common to all of us because we are all human beings living in a fallen world, a world of sin, of pain, of difficulty.

We want to understand what happens behind the scenes.

And we pray, Lord, that you would give us your blessing as we open the word, speak to our hearts, even more than the words that will come out of my mouth.

May you speak even through your word as we take time to reflect and to ponder its message.

And so we thank you Lord for answering this prayer in Jesus name, amen.

And so talking about test, I'm gonna start with a quiz.

A pop quiz, because you didn't expect it, did you?

God is good and everything he does is good.

Psalms 100 verse 5 says that the Lord is good.

And then it goes on to say, and His Love endures for how long?

And Psalms 145 Verse 9 adds, the Lord is good to all.

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Faith Tested: Understanding God’s Purpose in Trials

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