Ben Carbone - Why Trouble is Inevitable for Christians 2:2:25

ah anyone excited to be in church

today I am because I get excited I don't

know if you're like this but there's

times in my life when I feel like God is

speaking to me or God is guiding me and

God is leading me do you do you anyone

have times like that when we have a

sense that God is doing something in our

lives and and I I've had this sense

recently and then last week uh if you

weren't here Wanita got up to speak it's

on YouTube now you can have a look it's

a great message really encouraging

message but it was a message around um

how difficult times come to strengthen

us and strengthen our faith and um as

she spoke that message as she shared

that message it just hit me right here

because it was exactly what God had been

speaking to me about so you I had the

one of those moments where I was like

thank you God it is you who was speaking

to me anyone have those moments

and it's like all that you think you

think oh God I I think this is you I'm

going to step out in faith because i' i'

talked to the different people that are

preaching in February and think said I

feel like I've got a preaching theme for

February this is what it is and then on

Sunday God confirmed it really really

clearly and uh because our theme for

this February is living with

trouble

oh that makes you excited doesn't it

Lydia is saying she lives with trouble

Point pointing at

[Laughter]

Brun some of us live with trouble I live

with a tambourine player and uh it's uh

and that's trouble but uh it's fantastic

to have Selena here this morning too

it's really

wonderful it's h must be something in

the water in New Zealand because you

look younger than you than when you left

but um so God really confirmed that to

me by what wiita shared which was really

exciting and I want to give you some

context to that because as you all know

in January we did wholehearted January

and we read the book of John together

anyone read the book of John with us oh

people maybe maybe but uh we read

through it and as I was reading that I

was so encouraged about watching Jesus

cuz seems to be the the book where it

really delves into Jesus himself and

what he's going through and the

different things like the other gospels

talk about his miracles and stuff like

that but in John you you seem to get an

Insight because Jesus seems to talk

about what's happening in his life and

there's a whole prayer in there that he

prays and and uh so I was really excited

to glean off of jesus' life and and and

think of how it can can encourage my own

walk of faith and uh you would have seen

in there there was like many miracles

that he did he had these great highs and

these amazing uh things that happened he

healed a blind man that was blind since

birth and they were amazed at that they

were amazed but then at the same time he

was persecuted for it because they're

going why did you heal him on on the

Sabbath and they questioned who is this

man from and some of them even would

like said he's obviously from the Devil

is not and so he he had great Highs but

he also had difficult and challenging

times but through all of it you see that

Jesus stuck so strongly to his purpose

time and time again he reminded us

through the I AMS that he shared and

declared that he was God coming to save

humankind that he was God coming to

rescue humankind now if you think about

the I AMS that he deed de clared you

need to understand that the I AMS the

reason the Jews got upset at him saying

I am so and so I am this is because it

was referring back to Exodus when God

introduced himself to Moses and he said

these

words I am who I am those were his words

and so when the Jews heard him heard

Jesus say all these other things like I

am the bread of life I am the light of

the world world I am the door I am the

Good Shepherd I am the resurrection and

the life I am the way the truth and the

life and I am the True Vine they are all

referring to God himself to different

things about God's nature and his

character and what he does for humankind

so that's why they wanted to kill him

that's why they wanted to to persecute

him that's why they wanted to bring him

down a few pets and so in in all of that

Jesus is making it very clear to us

through these I AMS that he's saying I

am God and I am everything you need and

I am God and I've come come to rescue

rescue you from where you're at from the

life that you're living and bring you

into a relationship with me that sounds

amazing doesn't it that Jesus would be

all these things to us now that the

the thing about this though is as I was

reading through John I came to a

scripture in John 16:33

John 16:33

that all of a sudden Jesus teaches that

even though he offers us a relationship

with him and that he offers

us life with him all these

things he then says this statement in

John 16:33 where he

John 16:33

says I have told you these things so

that that in me you may have peace then

he says this in this world you will have

trouble but take heart I have overcome

the world Jesus makes it very clear that

if we choose to be his

followers here on Earth we will have

trouble be encouraged

it's a it's a very challenging statement

it stopped me in my tracks as I read it

and I thought about the last year that

we've had and I like yeah that's true

but the the truth in it is that there is

a perspective about trouble that Jesus

is trying to introduce to us to help us

understand that trouble is not the

problem that we think it

is because it's a very challenging

statement because when we tell people

Jesus is everything you need if you have

Jesus in your life everything's going to

be okay we we tell them this we we share

the faith that you need a relationship

with Jesus don't we because it's it will

make you realize who you were created to

be but at the same time that is so true

that that is truth that when we invite

Jesus into our life it makes us

spiritually okay when we put our trust

in Jesus and what he has done for us and

believe that he is has defeated death

and sin for us we do have eternal

security but we need to understand that

the problem is that we still live in a

broken

world and I'll talk about that a bit

more in a moment but we need to

understand that having a relationship

with Jesus isn't some magic vaccine that

makes us immune from

trouble Jesus says it himself here

in this world you will have

trouble so over the next four weeks

myself and some others are going to

share what this is all about and today I

want to look at to introduce this whole

topic I want to look at this idea of why

do we have trouble the why behind it

because I don't know about you but when

I have trouble one of the first things I

often do is say why God why why is this

happening to me anyone agree what have I

done to deserve this anyone say that or

why what what have I done to make this

happen have is there some sort of sin in

my life is there something I've done to

cause this anyone feel like that

sometimes when you have trouble so today

we're going to look at why trouble is

inevitable for

Christians anyone want to know anyone

Keen to hear

the first one is simply because we are

in a

war repeatedly in the gospels Jesus this

Jesus introduces this concept of the

kingdom of God he says I've come to

reveal God's kingdom and the Bible

clearly teaches us that the kingdom of

God is at odds with the kingdom of this

world you see the kingdom of God if you

read the Beatitudes it talks about

blessed are the

meek so in the kingdom of God those who

are humble those who are Meek are the

ones that are blessed but in our world

we want the strongest and the biggest

and the best don't we you have to be

something amazing you have to be

something incredible with your life you

got to be doing stuff and and kicking

goals and you know climbing the ladder

of success but in God's kingdom he looks

for those who are Meek and humble and

acknowledge I can't do this all by

myself he says blessed are those who

grieve those who are

brokenhearted those who are lost his

promise is that they will be

comforted so often we don't want to sit

in grief and loss because we think Oh no

I got to be stronger than this I got to

get through this I got to be strong for

others I got to do all those

things and these are the the ideas and

and and even Jesus taught these thoughts

of if if someone slaps you in the face

slaps you in the cheek give them the

other cheek to slap whereas in the world

that he lived in that day it was an eye

for an eye and a tooth for a tooth you

look at what's happening in the Middle

East now that's what's happening an eye

for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but

God's kingdom is different and Jesus

introduces this and it brings conflict

it brings trouble it brings

challenge it says says in Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:12

says for our struggle is not against

flesh and blood but against rulers and

against authorities and against the

powers of this dark world and against

spiritual

forces of the evil of evil in the

Heavenly Realms this is that simple idea

that we are in a spiritual battle and

then Paul introduces us that if we are

in this spiritual battle that causes

conflict and trouble

then we need to fight in a way that

honors the kingdom that we live for and

in Corinthians

1: 1 10: 3-5 it says this for though we

live in the world we do not wage war as

the world does I just shared one

principle of that that if someone slaps

you in the cheat turn give them the

other cheat to

slap whereas

in the world I say if they hurt you you

hurt them back the weapons we fight with

are not the weapons of the world on the

contrary they are they have divine power

to demolish

strongholds we demolish arguments and

every pretension that sets itself

against the knowledge of

God how do we do this we do it by taking

captive every thought to make it AED

obedient to Christ so how do we fight

this war we fight it by presenting God's

kingdom to the kingdom of this world

it's very

simple it's very simple that God's

kingdom Jesus explains what was the key

command that he gave us before he he

died and was crucified he said those

words a new commandment I give to you to

love one another as I have loved

you so that's his commandment so if

we're making every thought obedient to

Christ we're making every thought

obedient to that principle that my role

in the kingdom of God is to love others

my role in the kingdom of God is to

forgive those who hurt me or use me my

role in the kingdom of God is to live

peaceably in the world that I live in

and that is a in direct conflict with

the way of our world our world is is

driven by selfishness and

self-centeredness and greed and pride

whereas God's kingdom is talking about

humility and love and peace and so if

you have two worlds going at each other

like that guess what you will have

trouble if you choose to live according

to God's kingdom if you choose to bring

your life under his authority and say I

want to live

in a way that honors God that is

obedient to

Christ then you're going to find

challenges that's as simple as it

is the second thing and I mentioned this

earlier is we why trouble is inevitable

for Christians is because we live in a

broken

World Jesus explains it like

this in MA Matthew

Matthew 5:45

5:45 for he Mak his son talking about

God he makes his son rise on the evil

and on the good and he sends rain on the

just and on the unjust what's that mean

it's

basically trouble happens for everyone

while you live in this Earth because we

live in a broken

world what that means is that being a

Christian doesn't give you a get out of

trouble free card

just because you're a Christian you

don't get special privileges when it

comes to living in this broken World

anyone who's telling you that a life

with God is only full of blessings and

goodness and if you're right with God

then everything will just be wonderful

and just pennies will fall from Heaven

and and it would just be a beautiful

life um they haven't read the

Bible CU every role model God gives us

in his Bible experien trouble isn't that

true everyone including Jesus himself

experience trouble so it makes sense

that if you live in this earth you will

experience

trouble Jesus says it very plainly in

this world we will have trouble now that

means that yes trouble is inevitable for

us but we need to understand that as

Christians

this is really important our value isn't

defined by what happens to our

life but rather our value is defined by

who our life is

in we need to grab this we need to hold

this because sometimes we like our world

try to define the value of our life by

what is happening around us if you've

got a nice house if you got a nice car

you've got a nice partner you got a good

job and you've got plenty of money in

the bank then your life is

good but that's not how it works in the

kingdom of God the kingdom of God

defines the value of your life by who is

in your life Jesus tells us that we

invite him into our life we discover who

we really

are the image that God created us in is

in him and that's where we find our

value and our purpose

and our reality and so that means when

Trouble

Comes it's not the thing that defines us

it's just something we have to work

through you see the world teaches us to

try to avoid trouble at all

costs and that you know there's some

there obviously some goodness in that

you don't want to go do and I'm not

saying here go and do stupid things and

take stupid risks do your appropriate

risk

assessment um

Bonito yes he

does sometimes but the the fact

is what tests teach us or what troubles

teach us or what problems teach us is

that anything of value must be tested

including our faith in

God how will we know that that we trust

and have faith in God unless we are

challenged it's a challenge isn't that

true how will we know our faith is real

until it is

challenged Jesus taught us that the

pathway to life and whole life actually

involves dying and

death in John 12:24 he says very truly I

John 12:24

tell you unless a kernel of wheat falls

to the ground and dies it remains only a

seed but if it dies it produces many

seeds this idea that for a seed to

realize its true potential and value

what needs to happen to it you need to

bury it in the ground put it in a grave

and then wait

isn't that

right and then if you order it and if

things happen you'll start to see life

come from

it and God's creation shows us over and

over again that testing and trials

aren't the problem but rather they are

the vehicle or the method of bringing

new life and growth to our

lives time and time again in the early

church the early church fathers taught

the importance of embracing trials and

tribulations and

experiences teaching us that they are a

method of God's refinement and growth

one of them in James we all love this

scripture don't we consider it pure joy

my brothers and sisters whenever you

face Trials of many

kinds what does it

say consider it

what who laughs at trouble

laughs in the face of

danger consider it pure joy whenever you

face Trials of many kinds because you

know that the testing of your faith

produces

perseverance let perseverance finish its

work so that you may be mature and

complete not lacking

anything this is what the early church

lived its life by

the B the history books tell us that the

early church grew on the blood of the

martyrs it says what made it grow is

that these people would stand in front

of lions and being burnt alive and doing

all sorts of things being persecuted for

their faith and they would

not step back they would not renounce

their faith they would stand firm in

their faith in the face of death and

people watched on and after a while they

began to realize if they're willing to

do that then there must be something in

this and it literally

changed the

world the way we respond to

persecution way we respond to our

problems and our trials can be a great

witness to the world around

us they W going wow they have such a

beautiful house and have so much money

in the bank I want what they've got they

are going they're willing to die for

this thing what am I willing to die

for that's a challenge Steve shared a

little while ago that the church in Iran

in a Muslim World in Muslim country is

one of the most persecuted churches in

the

world and it is growing faster it's the

fastest growing Church in the

world and the the church leaders in Iran

sent a message out to church leaders

around the world and say don't pray that

the persecution

stops because it actually is what is

causing the Revival that we

see can you

imagine if we responded differently to

our problems our thoughts and our

problems and our trials and

tribulations and responded

in a way that brought honor to the faith

we have what message would that send to

the world around

us which brings me to my last thought

today the other reason why trouble is

inevitable is because trouble is where

we find

trust you see although trouble is

inevitable God makes it clear that

trouble and pain and difficulties and

challenges don't need to Define us or

overwhelm us or finish us Jesus said

himself in the passage he said take

heart after he tells us that we will

have trouble he says take heart for I

have overcome the world you see our

response to

trouble needs to be a response of taking

heart realizing that this isn't the

problem that I think it is that there's

something that God has in this and

realizing that I need to trust in his

work of overcoming the

world you see trust believes Jesus has

given us the same Holy Spirit who helped

him

overcome the

world if you remember in Romans

8 Paul says these words and if the holy

if the spirit of him who raised Jesus

from the dead is living in you in that

scripture in Romans 8 talks about that

if you put your faith in God if you put

your faith in Jesus he adopts you into

his kingdom and he puts his spirit in

you and if that same Spirit who raised

Jesus from the dead is living in you he

who raised Christ from the dead will

also give life to your mortal bodies

because of his Spirit who lives in

you do you get

that when you put your faith in God he

gives you his holy

spirit the same holy spirit that raised

him from the

dead that means in

you is everything you need to face the

troubles that Jesus said you will have

do you get

that when you are in trouble you have

something in you to lead you through

it you have someone in you to lead you

through

it because the reality is we need to

know that trouble has its

place because it helps us to discover

that trusting God and knowing god

intimately is what matters most and I

I've met so many many people over the

years as a pastor I've been one for a

while that have been dawling along in

their faith walk you

know but and they they're doing okay but

they're just they're just living

casually and whatever in their faith

walk but then Trouble Comes and all of a

sudden they're back in church every week

all of a sudden they're reading their

Bible again isn't that right maybe

you've experienced that I I probably

have myself to be honest that troubles

refocus us don't they they bring us back

to where we need to be because that but

the thing is it makes us look inward to

God in us and we say God I need your

help I need to engage with the Holy

Spirit that's in me I need to know you I

need to know your will I need to I need

your help to get me through this time

and it's in our troubl is where the Holy

Spirit can reveal to us so powerfully

that Jesus is everything we need

the fact is we our responsibility is to

know and to trust that he is

God I didn't tell her I was going to say

this but my sister yesterday shared with

me something um because they're selling

their house at the

moment

and and in the top three most stressful

things

is um someone dying in your life selling

your house or divorce I don't know if

they all go together I don't know with

but uh but selling your house can be a

very stressful and difficult time and

Chris said to me she said I feel God's

given me a scripture and the scripture

is be still and know that I am

God that's and she's holding on to that

in this difficult stressful challenging

time because these difficult stressful

challenging times remind us what matters

most and what matters most for us to

know that God is

God and God will keep us and guide us

and lead us no matter what all we need

to do is put ourself in the place where

we can be led and

guided and loved by

him when we do that when we allow our

ourselves to be led and guided by him we

make our Focus fully on

him then the world around us will see

who is in US isn't that right and close

with this story that I found anyone ever

heard of

Paganini all the oldies do I'm sorry

Helen I shouldn't have said

that um Paganini was a violin virtuoso

is that

right and I don't know when he existed

it was like 1920s or something like that

he was Italian great musician obviously

Italian and uh and The Story Goes that

one day he went out to perform in front

of this

audience and when he walked out on stage

he picked up the violin in front of him

thinking it was his you know what are

they those violent Stratovarius or

whatever they are that he had this

beautiful Old Violin that sounded

amazing but he picked it up and he

realized it

wasn't his violin it was a secondhand

Old Violin and it sort of threw him for

a moment and he said excuse me and he

took this violin out the back and looked

around the back at Backstage looking for

his violin realizing it wasn't there he

wondered if someone might have taken the

opportunity to steal it and replace it

with this Old Second Hand so in that

moment he's thinking what do I do what

do I do

he go catches his breath and he walks

back outside to the audience and he says

says to the

audience what's happened and he says but

I will show

you that the music is not in the

instrument but in the

soul and in that moment he picked up

that violin and he began to play and

people say that it was an amazing

performance they they they said he's

everyone at the end of it stood in gave

him a standing ovation and it was like

the ceiling was going to be lifted off

the concert hall and it was amazing but

he said those powerful words I will show

you that the music is not in the

instrument but in the

soul and it made me think about this

idea of troubles and why we have

troubles but the reality that when we

are tried and tested in this world we

are like

Paganini walking out on

stage the stage of this world the stage

of our community the stage of our life

realizing that in

ourselves we are lacking what we

need when it comes to living with

trouble and the way we respond in these

moments revealed to the Earth and to to

even to

Heaven that our trust is

not in the things we have the trust is

not even in the skills we have or the

education we

have but the the way we live our life in

times of trouble should reveal to the

world around us that our hope and trust

is not in

ourselves but in the one who is in us

because when we tap into our

relationship with him he will help us in

times of troubled to play a symphony or

a a beautiful song that the world will

go there the way they're dealing with

this shows that they have an inner

strength that comes from something more

than

themselves see troubles help us find

trust in God I shared a few weeks ago

about that guy called Caleb in the Old

Testament he's a perfect example of

this that when he went into the land to

spy it out he went in knowing that God

had promised them that land and so even

though all the 10 others said it we

can't be done he said if God says it can

be done we can do

it he trusted God he put his trust in

what God Said not what was happening

around him he could have been given into

peer pressure but he said no God says

we're going to have

that he had to have live for the next 45

year in years in trouble wandering the

Wilderness but then he received his

inheritance his

promise because in trouble he leared to

trust God and trouble exists to help us

find trust in God Paul sums it up

perfectly in Romans 5: 3 and 5 going to

ask the band to come

back and just play that last song song

that we sang or the new song that we

sang but Paul says here in Romans 5 3

and five we can Rejoice too when we run

into problems and

trials for we know they that they help

us develop

endurance and endurance develops

strength of character and character

strengthens our confident hope of

Salvation and this hope will not lead to

disappointment

for we know how dearly God loves us

because he has given us the Holy Spirit

to fill our hearts with his

love why is

trouble inevitable for us as Christians

we're in a war we live in a broken world

but

ultimately because it's in trouble that

we find trust and hope in God that the

holy spirit in US

can be

revealed that we can experience his help

and his enabling and his

strengthening that we put our trust

fully in him just going to ask you to

Bow your heads and close your

eyes and I want invite

you into a place to say

God help me trust

you help me me change my perspective on

the way I look at

trouble trouble isn't the end of the

world it's just a path to greater

things maybe you want to ask him today

for help say God help

me help me have the

strength help me respond the way you

would have me respond

help me mature through this

trouble help me to rest in

you help me to engage

you in everything I

do so as the band plays I'd invite you

to just pray those prayers with God

maybe you're in a really difficult time

right

now and you're finding it

hard to have the right attitude to have

the right response to the troubles

you're

facing just lay it before God say God

help

me God help me cuz he is our everpresent

help in times of

trouble reach out to him right

now and ask him for help