Written by Pastor Jack Wellman“Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes because we need them.”
– John Newton
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3 Reasons Trials Are Good For Us
Category: John Newton Quote Images
3 Reasons I’m Not What I Used to Be
“I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
– John Newton
3 Ways God’s Sovereignty Overrules Man’s Will
“If it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.”
– John Newton
3 Ways Faith Carries Us Through Trials
3 Ways Your Faith Can Be Built UponThe Rock
“Faith upholds a Christian under all trials, by assuring him that every painful dispensation is under the direction of his Lord. “
– John Newton
Have you been pummeled by storms, afflicted by trials, and tested by pain? Here are 3 ways to know that your faith can be built upon the Rock.
A Sure Foundation
When a person read and trusts in the words of Jesus, they have a sure foundation. The opposite of course is true and why Jesus’ says “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matt 7:26-27). Should we rather not be like the one “who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matt 7:24-45). The storms of life will test our foundation so it must be set upon the Rock and that Rock is Christ (1 Cor 10:4). All other ground is sinking sand.
Unless the Lord Builds the House
We can build our own house or have the Master of the House be our builder. The psalmist wrote “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). There is no doubt that “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (2 Tim 2:19). The point is that if you don’t depart from iniquity, God’s firm foundation is not going to hold you up because “this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic” (Isaiah 28:16). That stone in Zion is Christ and is indeed a precious cornerstone and a sure foundation. Is He precious to you?
Faith Comes By Hearing
This seems so simple yet this point is often overlooked. That’s why people are saved by both the hearing of the Word and the reading (or preaching) of the Word but Paul wrote “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent” (Rom 10:14-15a)? They cannot be saved unless they hear the Word (or at least read it) and how can they ever hear it except someone goes to them and tells them? That’s why Paul said “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news” (Rom 10:15b)! The point is that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17) and if we hear it (from biblical preaching) and read it, our faith will be strong and the more you get into the Word the more the Word gets into you. Go through the Word and the Word will go through you. The faith that comes by hearing will sustain you through difficult times.
Conclusion
If you have Christ as your Rock, the Lord is the Builder, and you are regularly partaking in the Word of God. This will serve to increase your faith so that all of the painful trials of life cannot shake such a sure foundation as the one that God builds. All other ground is sinking sand.
3 New Mindsets Christians Should Adopt
“Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes because we need them; and he proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires.”
– John Newton
3 Reasons God’s Way Is Better
“If it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.”
– John Newton
Not Broken
The ways of the Lord are true and well light and the person who leans upon God can put their trust in the One Who created the path. He knows what’s around the blind corner and has left us with our instruction manual, which is the Bible, and if we don’t open it, we can’t open our eyes to see the truth and our minds to know what’s right and that’s to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov 3:5). Leaning on your own understanding is like leaning on air; it just won’t hold up.
The Road Map
God has plans for you and for me that we don’t even know about yet. God has predestined us to do good works for Him before we even existed (Eph 2:10) and the best way to find those good works that God’s appointed for us to do is to open the Bible and read where God’s will is found in Scripture but that’s not all; you and I must do what God’s will says we ought to do. If we’re conformed to this world we can’t know His will but by reading His revealed will, we can be transformed by the Spirit’s work in our minds and only then can we discern what God’s will is for our life (Rom 12:2). God will never reveal any more of His will for your and my life until we first obey the revealed will of God and God’s revealed will is found between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21.
The Rock and the Hammer
When some people ask for prayers at our church they are praying for unbeliever’s to have all their problems solved but sometimes God allows these problems to break the unbeliever’s pride and to humble them. If we are constantly helping someone that God is trying to humble, we can get in between the Rock and the Hammer. God may be trying to break them because He cannot fix what is first not broken and cannot fill up what is first not emptied. I’m not saying we should never help unbelievers, but pray for God to use these problems to draw them to Himself. That’s how I came to be saved.
Conclusion
John Newton’s was right in writing that “if it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it” and I must say the very same thing. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The Gospel is the whole counsel of the whole Word of God and it never changes nor needs changing with the times. It is like Christ; the Rock of Ages and His way is always better and better left alone by tinkering with human hands like I’ve done before (and regretted doing it!).
3 Benefits of Trials
“Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes because we need.”
– John Newton
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4 Reasons To Keep Our Hands Off The Wheel
“If it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.”
– John Newton
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3 Ways Our Faith Holds Us Up
John Newton Quote – 3 Bible Facts about God’s Speed Every Christian Should be Aware Of
John Newton Quote – Humility is the Fruit of Trust
“Assurance grows by repeated conflict, by our repeated experimental proof of the Lord’s power and goodness to save; when we have been brought very low and helped, sorely wounded and healed, cast down and raised again, have given up all hope, and been suddenly snatched from danger, and placed in safety; and when these things have been repeated to us and in us a thousand times over, we begin to learn to trust simply to the word and power of God, beyond and against appearances: and this trust, when habitual and strong, bears the name of assurance; for even assurance has degrees.”
– John Newton
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