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please find your seats welcome back to Sunday school yay yeah I’m excited to be back with Sunday school hope you are hope you’re feeling refreshed after the summer break it’s good to have a break every now and then recharge but the Lord has called us into more Ministry we need to receive it we need to give it and so that’s why we are all our equipping Ministries are beginning again this week including adult Sunday school today we begin a brand new Sunday school series on our book trusting God by Jerry Bridges I’d like to introduce this series to you in today’s lesson take some time discussing a question with you considering a Christian’s relationship with suffering which I think will be helpful for getting into this book and then I’d like to overview with you the first chapter of this book it’s been a while since we’ve done a Sunday a Sunday school series on a Christian book usually we are using a curriculum or we’re just going straight to the scriptures or doing Church history or something like that we usually don’t use a Christian book but don’t be alarmed this isn’t somehow us getting away from the Bible settling for the wisdom of man the opinions of man not at all rather we’re just using this book to help guide and organize our study of God’s word because God’s word is really the only genuinely enlightening lifegiving and authoritative source of Truth indeed if the content of this book were based only on one man’s experience and wisdom it would be next to useless because this man doesn’t know everything he hasn’t experienced everything he himself admits our author admits in the preface that though he has suffered in his life there are plenty of people whove suffered more than he has so who’s he who’s Jerry Bridges to write a book and to teach and encourage God’s people when it comes to suffering well Bridges is no one special but God is special and God’s word is special and the truth and encouragement of God’s word is not dependent on the depth or breadth of a particular person’s experience so the reason why we’re studying this book then is not because this one man Bridges has Supernatural Insight but rather God enabled Bridges to helpfully uncover and apply the supernatural Insight that comes from God Alone in his word now I really enjoyed this book you’ve probably heard me mention it several times even before this series I enjoy it because of how clearly how understandably how engagingly how uh relatably how accurately and how carefully this information is presented the Biblical teaching about trusting God through trials it’s been a blessing to many Christians and I hope and pray that it’ll be a blessing to you and to your families as we read it and discuss it together over the next few months who is Jerry Bridges if you haven’t heard of him he’s a well-known Christian author author and speaker who served in the Navigator’s discipleship Ministry for more than 60 years he’s in heaven now he went to be with the Lord in 2016 but he’s Left Behind several well-received books including respectable sins the pursuit of Holiness and this one trusting God now from where exactly did this book come why did he write it we actually get an explanation from Bridges in page VII of the preface you don’t have to turn there I’ll just read it to you he says learning to trust God in adversity has been a slow and difficult process for me it is a process that is still underway but several years ago and this was in 199 1988 when he first wrote this in an effort to strengthen my own trust in God I began a lengthy bible study on the subject of God’s sovereignty in the Affairs of his people that steud has helped me immeasurably and is the fruit of that steud I now share with you so then the great truths that became such a help and instruction for Jerry Bridges are the ones that we want to uncover together even with bridges help now if you saw my preview email that I sent on Friday of this week I am not going to be the only one who’s going through this book with you not the only one teaching in this class I am happy to say that I have a number of C- laborers with me in this series some other teachers Lord willing you’ll be hearing from each of them later on besides myself there’s Mark twamley host penalosa uh Ian pong Mike papis Rich Monto and Cliff Simon so happy to have them along please pray for each of us as we seek to bless you in bringing this material one final note of introduction this class will have 14 lessons one lesson on each chapter of Bridge’s book to get the mo out of this class you should obtain a copy of this book and you should read it read the relevant chapter before the lesson on which it is taught so for next time we’re going to be in Chapter 2 you should read chapter 2 before the next Sunday school lesson understand that your teacher intent is to cover what is in each chapter in some form but also to go beyond it so if you read the chapter beforehand you’ll be much more able to track with what’s presented in the lesson you will have reinforced and clarified what you’ve already read on your own and you’ll be better equipped to participate in the class even to answer questions to ask questions and to give helpful comments now if you don’t read the book you can’t read the book there’ll still benefit from being in this class or from watching this class but you’ll get much more out of it if you actually use the book and this is a great book it’s a great explanation of biblical truth I’ve read it more than once I would recommend you do the same and even pass it along to others so before I go on any questions about this book or the course okay now our first lesson is on chapter one can you trust God know some of you might not have the books yet or you just got them today uh we have some in the back I think you just need to see Dwayne are one of the greeters if you haven’t read chapter 1 yet that’s okay just read it afterwards but this whole book is about trusting God if we’re going to be interested in that if we’re going to pay attention to that we must start by examining why it is that trusting God Is So necessary but also so difficult in this life and that’s what the first chapter is all about let’s pray before we look into it God as we look at this topic of trusting you even amid suffering Lord we know that this is actually a pretty weighty thing it’s so basic but it’s so weighty it’s easy to talk about trusting you it’s a lot harder to do it but God I pray that as a result of today’s lesson and the lesson’s going forward that we would indeed become a people known for trusting you even when we don’t exercise it perfectly God we are exercising it characteristically and we are growing in our trust in you help me Lord to be able to explain this help us all Lord to be able to hear it and apply it and help us to love you more for it in Jesus name amen life in a sin cursed wrath cursed world can be very hard full of pain full of confusion full of suffering but here’s a question for you and I’d like to see your response by a show of hands oh I forgot to show that one that’s Jerry Bridges by the way I’d like to see your response by a show of hands in just a minute the question is who suffers more in this life non-christians Christians or is it about equal take a moment to think about that that when it comes to suffering when it comes to experiencing hurt and hardship and burden and concern pain difficulty who experiences that more in this life unbelievers Believers or neither is it about the same broadly speaking raise your hand if you think unbelievers suffer more raise your hand if you think Believers suffer more raise your hand if you think it’s about the same interesting all right let’s hear some defenses for someone who says that unbeliever suffer more explain your position give me a reason why you said that Diana did I see your hand that’s right very well said Diana for an unbeliever they don’t know God they don’t have his comfort so they’re going to suffer more they don’t have the comfort of Christ they’re going to suffer more internally are thoughts are thoughts in support of that think that’s on other hand oh same thing okay yeah and in some ways taking this stance makes a lot of sense with what the scripture says I mean consider a few verses Psalm 32:10 Psalm 32:10 many are the Sorrows of the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord loving kindness shall surround him it’s a pretty big difference right or Proverbs 13:15 Proverbs 13:15 good understanding produces favor but the way of the treacherous is Hard 1 Peter 3:13 1 Peter 313 who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good you do what’s right you do what’s good who’s going to who’s going to harm you for that sin as the scriptures emphasize pretty repeatedly sin is fundamentally foolish and naturally brings with it destructive consequences and the Judgment of God which are painful the consequences the natural consequences and the chasing of God is painful both to body and spirit so if you want to experience good and avoid trouble you should believe in God and you should follow him and isn’t this one of the basic messages presented to Israel again and again in the Old Testament follow God you’ll be blessed turn from God you’ll be cursed and this is why or rather this is where those who preach the Prosperity Gospel that believing in God is going to make your life better and result in temporal blessings like honor wealth Health good relationships they find some support in the scriptures in some ways knowing god following God makes your life better and rescues you from trouble but that’s not the whole story is it some of you rais your hand saying that Believers suffer more in this life give me one reason that you take that position yeah Stephanie he says that we straight out and also we do have hope in all promises but there a battle Yeah yeah yeah so Stephanie I think has brought up several important facts and that is what’s unique to Christians is that well first of all Jesus said we’re going to have trials too so we’re not exempt but there’s something special about the trials of Christians because he says they hated me they’re going to hate you we when we became Christians we opened ourselves up to persecution and that is what many Christians have experienced also we entered into spiritual warfare which we didn’t really participated in before we didn’t engage in that struggle Dan I saw your hand were you going to say something else yeah pretty much the same yeah yeah and I’ll mention a few also uh Danny bringing up different scriptures saying that you we Christians have been called to suffer even granted to suffer for the Lord and that’s how we are sure of an inheritance I’ll give you some other scriptures John 15:19 this is along the lines of what Stephanie shared with us John 15:19 if you were of the world the world would love its own but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world because of this the world hates you as long as you were still part of the world they didn’t hate you but now they do Ephesians 6:12 Ephesians 6:12 for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the powers against the world forces of this Darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the Heavenly places you didn’t fight against demons before spiritually and they’re trying to tempt you into sin but now you do John 15:2 John 152 every branch in me that does not bear fruit Jesus says he the father takes away but every branch that bears fruit he prunes it he cleans it so that it may bear more fruit being removed out of the Dark World in many ways is a blessing and it’s and it’s a removal from suffering but we’ve been placed into the Light of Christ and the Dark World therefore no longer likes us we now are going to suffer just like our Lord did at the hands of the world we no longer additionally no longer go along with our sinful flesh the evil World System our Master the devil the old master we’re now in the army of the Lord and in the good fight of faith and warfare is not easy Warfare is painful we battle tooth and nail now against Temptation we struggle to see Souls one to Jesus we work hard and sometimes long and without much progress visibly to serve our brethren in the church church and we didn’t do this before me Jesus Christ and as Danny pointed out with the scriptures he referred to our Heavenly Father specifically brings some trials into our lives to prune us to refine us to draw us closer to him and display his Worth to the world there’s new suffering in being a Christian which perhaps suggests that Believers suffer more than unbelievers do but many of you raise your hands saying the suffering is about the same please explain your position or give some support for your answer what’s one reason that you said that Mike I think it’s about the same I think it’s different suffer ah so Mike says I think it’s about the same but the suffering is different okay other thoughts yeah so Mike is uh explaining a little bit of the difference in suffering and I think I think we already saw this even with our examining the the two previous positions there is suffering in being in the Romans one category of not knowing the Lord suppressing the truth and unrighteousness but there are suffering in being a Christian it’s just a different kind of suffering and whether you believe in God or not there are certain modes of suffering that we all suffer and this is particularly prominent in the Book of Ecclesiastes you remember we went through that just a couple of years ago but it opens with this observation this declaration about life Ecclesiastes 1:2 vanity of vanity says the preacher all is Vanity all is Havel Vapor it doesn’t last it’s hard to get your hands around it doesn’t satisfy and you know Ecclesiastes is often taught oh this is life for those who don’t know God no this is life for everybody this is life Under the Sun all of us face the vaporous nature of Life Ecclesiastes 21:14 points out in particular Ecclesiastes 21:14 the wise man eyes are in his head but the fool walks in darkness okay there’s a difference right and yet I know that one Faith befalls them both whether you’re wise whether you’re foolish you’re still both going to die you’re still both subject to the Decay and frustration of this world eclesiastes 3:11 another observation from Solomon Ecclesiastes 311 he God has made everything appropriate in its time he has also set eternity in their heart man’s heart yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end again that’s for everybody God is the one in control of times we want times to go a certain way but we can’t make them go that way and when we see God organizing the times we want to see why and how and how it all fits together what God is doing God has even placed that desire in our hearts but he says you’re not going to know what I’m doing you’re not going to see fully what I’m doing that’s for everybody now as result of God’s curse over man’s Disobedience death futility they pervade our world they bring suffering to everyone regardless of whether you believe in or follow God or not everyone gets sick everyone gets injured everyone ages and if Christ doesn’t return everyone even everyone here will die we must all deal with weeds and bad weather and dog bites and broken ice cream machines and Injustice and in incompetent bosses we must deal with misinformation misunderstanding and the sheer difficulty of uncovering the full truth about the past or the present and of course none of us knows the future or can ultimately control our times we at the mercy of God who does not fully reveal his plans to us or why what happens to us happens we want to know we want to be in control we want things to go our way but God says you you don’t have that power so then I would say I submit to you that that in comparing the sufferings of unbelievers and Believers broadly speaking there’s no difference in the fact of suffering or even the amount of suffering broadly speaking everyone suffers about the same yet there are or ought to be and Mike was alluding to this two crucial differences in the suffering of unbelievers versus Believers at least two crucial differences and first unbelievers suffer unrighteously while Believers suffer righteously that is Believers generally do not suffer for doing what is wrong but for doing what is right and for whatever suffering they experience even if it’s just the curse of the world Believers suffer with patient endurance and continued obedience rather than with anger complaint anxiety or other kinds of sin righteous suffering we are told in 1 Peter 2:20 it finds favor with God but unrighteous suffering it actually calls for the Judgment of God that’s a main difference between Believers and unbelievers but second and this is related to the first the reason Believers can respond to suffering so differently than unbelievers do is because Believers fundamentally trust God they trust God through their suffering Christians know and rest in the facts that God is in control of their suffering that God is with his people and supernaturally sustains them through their suffering God will bring an end to the suffering at the proper time and with proper recompense and God will always use the suffering to bring about lasting good for his people and proper glory to his own name this is is the confidence of the believer and this is why he suffers differently than the unbeliever does but now here’s a more important question is what I just talked what I just described about a Believer is that how you characteristically respond to your suffering do you suffer righteously do you suffer with patient endurance do you suffer with continued obedience or does your suffering look more like the world’s you suffer for doing wrong or when you suffer you turn to wrong you become racked with anxiety you’re filled with despair you turn to sin and worldly comforts you even blame God you know we often sing in church really wonderful songs that have to do with how we suffer that we will trust God no matter what he brings in our lives one song says every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise and when the darkness closes in Lord still I will say blessed be the name of the lord it’s wonderful to sing that in church but does your heart sing that when you’re suffering it is easy to affirm the goodness of God through suffering when we’re not suffering or when our suffering is only shortlived and not very painful but when you are suddenly placed in The Crucible of deep suffering or when one little disappointment after another just tumbles over you in your life trusting God turns out not to be so easy can you really trust God when life hurts that’s the central question our author raises as he opens his book even in chapter 1 can you trust God if you have your copies of the book you can turn to chapter 1 page one as we’re now going to overview walk through the chapter a little bit with some additional questions if you did have a chance to read this chapter beforehand you probably recognize that this chapter is largely stage setting for what is to come ultimately as we’ll see more in just a moment our author Jerry Bridges is interested in helping us to know why we can trust God and then having us actually do so consistently and in a growing way in our lives but if we’re going to be taught to trust God we need to foresee why we need to pay attention to this teaching in the first place thus the opening chapter of this book it lays out the fundamental problem but also the only true solution which is explained and unpacked in the rest of the book what is our fundamental Al problem in this context it is that all of us have and will encounter adversity in various forms in various times in our lives all of us Bridges gives us many examples in Pages 1 to 4 malignant cancer spiritually rebellious child a discordant marriage infertility Injustice rejection murder natural disasters the threat of nuclear war a canceled vacation a broken appliance a school lock school locker that simply won’t open truly life is filled with Diversified trials as first Peter 1:6 says there are big trials and there are small trials there are short-lived trials there are longlasting trials there are trials that come Suddenly by themselves and there are trials that come with a whole pack there are physical trials and there are spiritual trials and then the burden of Trials only grows when we factor in the trials of those that we love because you don’t just have your own trials the people around you have trials and if you care about them their trials become yours your loved ones suffering becomes your suffering and it can even cause you to be more affected than it does the person who’s suffering it your child is sick your spouse is being mistreated at work your brother or sister at church is struggling with sin we Christians are not immune to all these trials but we actually may struggle with them sometimes more deeply than unbelievers do because we are forced to ask in Trials where is God where is my good God in all this I thought he loved me can you trust God and Bridges explains that he asked this question with two emphases and we see this in U on page four second to last paragraph on the page last full paragraph first can you trust God is God truly Dependable in times of adversity and second can you trust God do you have such a relationship with with God and such a confidence in him that you believe he is with you in your adversity even though you do not see any evidence of his presence or his power here’s time for another show of hands question please raise your hand if you have ever struggled with trusting God yeah I assume that’s everybody keep your hand raised if you struggled with trusting God at some point this last year keep it raised if it was sometime even this last month or how about even this last week and I raised my hand to all those too I’ll give you a few specific examples many of you know this about me because it’s appeared on the prayer sheet or even in my conversations with with you when we came back from seminary in 2020 we expected we could find a house to move into rent or buy right away but then the whole Co thing happened and the housing market craziness happened and we searched and we wondered and we prayed for 3 years and we couldn’t find what we were looking for that wasn’t what we expected at all it was a a long process of learning to trust God through that and even with the wonderful provision of the parsonage that’s been a process too thank the Lord it looks like it’s coming to the point where we can move in which is exciting but it’s been a long process of learning to trust God you also know that last year I found out I have a new medical issue my wrists and my feet had new pains I got a new diagnosis at least when it comes to my feet that you have Alex limitus and arthritis I’m 35 that can’t be right that can’t be right God why would you do this to me and I remember at different points just being overcome with fear for the future Lord if it’s so painful right now if I feel inhibited even just walking around the block with my son what’s it going to be like in future am I going to be able to play with him I going to be able to run with him play sports with him I didn’t know it was just gone with that even on our trip this past Wednesday is when we flew back we had a great trip by the way thank you for your prayers but our flight home I knew was going to be difficult cuz it was going to be about 8 hours from the UK to United States and it was not during the night it was during the day which means Benjamin was going to be awake most of the time and we’re flying economy so I’m like how’s that going to go well I have been on my lap and he’s crying he crying a lot and I I’m like okay well I’ll do what I can for him but at least I can watch a movie every time I tried to plug in my headphones to watch the movie he pulled him out I’m like he’s trying to not let me enjoy this and then we kind of made a mistake we let his diaper get too full and he wet himself and he wet me too and I was like when is this going to end the hours were dragging by I really struggle to trust God and endure impatient obedience during that trial trusting God is right it is good it is necessary for us as Christians and it can be done but it doesn’t always mean it’s easy how should this fact by the way affect the way we appr approach those struggling to trust God what would you say the fact that it’s not easy in that we ourselves struggle how do that affect the way you seek to help others yeah magnati yeah I think that’s that’s that’s the right answer you got to be gentle you got to be understanding you got to be sympath a athetic yes exhort them to their proper calling but remember your own weakness and remember the difficulty of it ton were you going to say something else that yourself exactly I mean isn’t that love right treat others the way that you’d want to be treated there’s no room for Pride self-righteousness GLI answers what’s your problem just trust God don’t you know God works everything good where’s your faith now we’re aware of our own failures to trust God when we should have known better Jerry Bridges says something particularly interesting at the bottom of page five I want to read that to you going into page six Bridges contrast trusting God with obeying particular commands of God look where he says yet I acknowledge last paragraph yet I acknowledge it often seems more difficult to trust God than to obey him the moral will of God given to us in the Bible is rational and reasonable the circumstances in which we must trust God often appear irrational and inexplicable the law of God is readily recognized to be good for us even when we don’t want to obey it the circumstances of Our Lives frequently appear to be Dreadful and Grim or perhaps even calamitous and tragic obeying God is worked out within well- defined boundaries of God’s revealed will trusting God is worked out in the arena that has no boundaries we do not know the extent the duration or the frequency of the painful adverse circumstances in which we must frequently trust God we are always coping with the unknown have you found this to be true in your life don’t lie but always tell the truth sure no problem don’t steal but work hard and give okay you can do that trust God no matter what difficult and confusing circumstances you encounter that’s going to be tough another question for you since it does seem more difficult to trust God rather than obey specific commands could we just do one and not the other could we just focus on obeying God and forget about trusting him no we couldn’t why not together they do go together can you explain um Glendon okay okay yeah yeah so glena emphasizing that they are intimately tied together trusting and obeying they go together and it is even commanded in the scriptures to trust you can’t be like I’m going to obey the commands of God I’m not going to trust God well it’s actually commanded in the scriptures that you trust God for example Psalm 4 4:5 and this is actually given as an exhortation to those who are prone to be rebellious against God it says Psalm 4:4 to5 tremble and do not sin meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still offered the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the Lord you can’t just obey and not trust God because you’re commanded to trust God but why else why else is it impossible for us to separate trusting God from obeying him why could we not simply just choose I’m not going to trust God I’m just going to keep asking for forgiveness every time I I I don’t trust him why is that not acceptable give you another reason first of all or another reason is that this is just basic to wise living I mean God commands things that are for our good and that are true wisdom if you choose not to trust God you only afflict yourself Proverbs 35 and 6 Proverbs 35 and 6 you know these verses trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight you want a straight path want to not be fretting so much trust God not only is it commanded but it’s wisdom of course we’re commanded to live wisely so those things even fit together there too so you can’t just shrug off trusting God furthermore trus in God honors God’s name while refusing to trust God it blasphemes his worthiness this is something Bridges points out right in the next paragraph there on page six um start with that first sentence yet it is just as important to trust God as it is to obey him when we disobey God we defy his authority and despise his Holiness but when we fail to trust God we doubt his sovereignty and question his goodness in both cases we cast aspersions upon his majesty and his character it’s not a neutral thing for you to choose not to trust God you were saying something about God with that choice you’re saying I can’t trust God he’s not worthy of it it’s not enough whatever God has given or said is not enough I can’t trust him and that’s a blasphemy against God’s character and I can think of at least one other reason why we can’t just say oh I’m not going to worry about trusting God and I think this is part of what Glenda was getting at too trusting God is necessary for all genuine obedience it’s not just something that God commands it’s actually implicit in all the commands that God does give to us lack of trust that is what leads to all kinds of sins after all what is another word for trust when it comes to trusting God faith belief and isn’t Faith Central to our Salvation and sanctification you’re going to say oh I don’t need Faith I’ll just obey I’m sorry that’s not what the scripture says indeed if you do not have faith if you do not believe what God says about himself or what God says about how he will take care of you when you obey him how can you really obey it all you may put it on appearance of obedience on the outside or you may be able to show some good works for a short time but if you do not trust God from the inside your obedience will not be complete and it will not last consider amid many examples of how Faith trusting God motivated Believers from ages past to amazing acts of obedience the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:6 Hebrews 11:6 and without faith without trusting God and believing his word it is impossible to please him for he comes to God must believe that he is and that he is rewarder of those who seek him so then while having faith or trusting God through trials is not always easy it is necessary it is necessary if you love Jesus and are his genuine disciple can’t be like I don’t trust God but I love God’s forgiveness you say I am not satisfied with my lifestyle not trusting God I must change I must grow because I love Jesus but how do we do it if life is hard and if our trials are so great and varied then how can we ever fulfill this basic calling to being a disciple and trust God what’s the answer what’s that Denny that’s right the key the answer is you must learn to rely on God’s word not senses feelings or your autonomous human reasoning this is what Jerry Bridges essentially says in the next paragraph on page six look there at the last full paragraph in order to trust God in order to trust God we must always view our adverse circumstances Through The Eyes of faith not of sense and just as the faith of Salvation comes through hearing the message of the Gospel so the Faith to trust God and adversity comes through the word of God Alone it is only in the scriptures that we find an adequate view of God’s relationship to and involvement in our painful circumstances it’s only from the scriptures applied to our hearts by the holy spirit that we receive the grace to trust God in adversity you know if you’ve ever heard the testimonies of some great sufferers of Christ one thing you’ll notice among them is a certain feature certain pattern and that is what gets them through their hardship what enables them to not crumple even when the pain is Extreme and long lasting it’s the word of God in our Biblical counseling conference a few years ago talking about God and human dignity there was a a section on disability there was a talk that Johnny Erics and T gave and if you know her story you know that she’s dealt with some pretty extreme physical pains not just merely being a quadriplegic but chronic pain in her body and she relates a story of how she was visiting a place and apparently she to get through the night she has to be rotated every so often because otherwise the pain gets to be too great in her body she was staying the night um at a place outside of her home with a friend and the friend was in the other room and she said oh you know the friend saids just speak to me through this little monitor if you need help if you need pain if you need rotation or something well in the middle of the night Johnny was feeling great pain and she called out to her friend in the monitor but her friend didn’t respond didn’t come the pain didn’t go away Johnny kept calling to her eventually began shouting to her no response so she says what do I do what do I do I’m in great pain and there’s no relief you know what she did she just began speaking the scriptures out loud just kept reminding herself of the promises of God all the ones that she could think of she said that I don’t remember how long she said it was but I think it was at least a few hours she said she was eventually just screaming the word to herself and when she felt like she reached her limit and she couldn’t persist anymore she suddenly heard a little voice on the monitor that said Johnny are you there I’m so sorry it was turned off in my room I’m coming right over that story sticks out to me in my mind Johnny would say that not just in that circumstance but over and over again she’s always recalling the scriptures to her mind because she has a lot of suffering but you know what she’s one of the most Joy people you can obser observe it just comes out every time I I hear her talk where does that come from it comes from her clinging to God as she clings to God word God’s word if you want to suffer righteously as you’ve been called by the Lord Jesus Christ then you must do the same you must cling to God as you cling to God’s word you must cling to the truth of God you must trust God by that means now Bridges notes that there are actually three particular truths three essential truths that you must continually be meditating on and bringing back to your mind if you are to trust God through suffering and you see those at the top of page seven they are God is completely Sovereign God is infinite in wisdom and god is perfect in love or as one writer puts them all together and and bridges quotes this as well God in his love always Wills what is best for us in his wisdom he always knows what is best and in his sovereignty he has the power to bring it about if our basic problem is that we all face many and severe trials then the only true solution to those problems is right here it’s trusting in God by the promises of his word and the explanation of God’s character the solution is not somehow finding Perfect wisdom to avoid all trials and suffering in your life that’s never going to happen such wisdom doesn’t exist the solution is not just doubting God’s in trials and then asking God for forgiveness later Israel tried that you see how that worked out for them God laid them low in the wilderness that’s dead unbelief and the solution is not some worldly wisdom some drug some entertainment to just make you forget your problems that’s the way the world often tries to deal with suffering that’s no true solution the only true solution to your sufferings and anxieties in this life is to trust God by his word even to cling to his sovereignty his love and his wisdom this therefore is what the rest of Jerry Bridge’s book is going to explore and now I can finally show a sh slow show you a slide of how he and we will seek to do so these are the chapters of the book and they’re the subjects of our lessons in this course you can see that we have chapters focusing on different topics after this introductory chapter we have six chapters on the sovereignty of God that’s the subject that requires the most explanation and illustration one chapter on the wisdom of God two chapters on the love of God and then four chapters on specific topics and applications now I know some of you are very well versed in the doctrine of the sovereignty of God and you might be tempted to say oh I already know all about this I believe all this I don’t really need these chapters I don’t need to be part of this course hold your horses you might not know these truths as well as you think you do or you might give intellectual assent to these truths without actually having them become your convictions that actually cause you to trust God in the different Trials of life this is actually Jerry Bridges stated concern as he comes to the end of his first chapter if you look at the look at page N9 second paragraph This is what he writes page N9 second paragraph in subsequent chapters we will explore these three truths the sovereignty love and wisdom of God in Greater detail but their primary purpose of this book is not to explore these wonderful truths their primary purpose is for us to become so convinced of these truths that we appropriate them in our daily circumstances that we learn to trust God in the midst of our pain whatever form it may take it does not matter whether our pain is Trivial or traumatic temporary or interminable regardless of the nature of the circumstances we must learn to trust God if we would glorify God in them now even this purpose Bridges says before he closes the chapter must be realized as part of a vital relationship with God a true and living relationship with God you can never learn to trust God if you’ve not really come to know God or love him in an intimate way if you’ve not come to saving faith in Jesus there’s no way you’re going to be prop you’re going to be able to properly apply these truths about God’s love sovereignty or wisdom but if you have come to know Jesus then not only can you apply these truths but as you actually do so in your different trials else you will find that you grow in your relationship with God and you actually come to know and love him more interesting right you need to know God for you to even grow in trust in God but as you grow and trust in God you will know him and love him more it’s not for nothing that the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:10-11 Philippians 3:10-11 of his own aim in giving up all to follow Jesus Paul says that I may know him which is the essence of eternal life right that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death in order that I may to May attain to the resurrection from the dead now if you’re a Christian you probably confess that you want to know and love Jesus more you want to show forth his glory more if you don’t want that then not a Christian but if that is so do you realize how that’s going to happen one of the main ways that’s going to happen how are you going to know love and show forth the glory of Jesus more by learning to trust him as you suffer righteously for his sake if you don’t suffer for Jesus you can’t get to know him more you must be placed into the fellowship of his sufferings if you want to experience the power of his resurrection say that sounds hard can I really do this can I can you trust God the answer is yes yes you can and yes you will if you are a true Christian after all your Lord did it first we don’t have time to get into it but bridges does allude to the fact that if you look at the life of Jesus it was not easy and we’re not just talking about the cross talking about the things that led up to it how did Jesus do it he trusted God and His spirit is now in you so you can do it you’ve been called to do it now to close our lesson today I like our author Jerry Bridges want to wet your appetite just a little bit to learn more about these three essential truths about God and the way I’m going to do that is just briefly show us three sets of Bible verses the first has to do with the question is God completely Sovereign go to Lamentations please Lamentations 3 37-38 we’re going to hear much more about this in the coming weeks and I want to get you interested get you thinking give you even some initial comfort and instruction Lamentations 3 37-38 says this who is there who speaks and it comes to pass unless the Lord has commanded it is it not from the mouth of the most high that both good and Ill go forth now this is Hebrew poetry it has a lot of parallelism in these verses notice in verse 37 speaking and coming to pass is set parallel to commanding you speak something that comes to pass that’s essentially commanding and both of those descriptions are set in parallel to what’s given in verse 38 verse 38 it says is it not from the mouth of the most high if these are in parallel to verse 37 what does it mean and what sense do good and Ill go forth from the mouth of the most high is he just musing about it and suddenly it just happens what does it mean from the mouth of the most high what is that in what sense okay so he he is speaking it but there’s a lot of different ways we can speak right we can declare we can ask questions we can um I know give a description so what kind of speaking is God doing he’s commanding that’s what he was doing in verse 37 that’s what he’s doing in verse 38 He commands he decrees he decrees what just good no good and Ill good and evil you can even translate it with a sense of trouble or Calamity and the way this is worded this is uh back to verse 37 who is there who speaks comes to pass there’s only one so what’s implied in verse 38 where do good and Ill come from only one by his decree you know what that is that’s sovereignty that’s total sovereignty over everything but that might confuse and offend you at first because you say wait God is the one who commands the calamities and even the sins that appear in the world this is going to be explained more when you understand this truth this plainly biblical truth more closely you will not be offended rather you will find an amazing pillow for your heart now is God infinite in wisdom look at Romans 11:33 Romans 11:33 Paul says oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways this is kind of interesting this statement comes at the end of a kind of long explanation explanation of what an explanation there’s different ways we can answer that most immediately it’s talking about what God is doing with Israel and will do with Israel but Romans 1:11 you could say is an explanation of the great salvation of God the salvation of which Paul is not ashamed because it’s the power of God or the gospel is the power of God unto salvation so he’s just explained it and he’s just talked about how it’s contrary to human wisdom it’s it’s so powerful it’s so wonderful here it is and then he says this he says God’s wisdom and his knowledge are so deep his judgments are even unsearchable and unfathomable and that might strike you as a little bit odd because you say weren’t you just explaining it how could it be unfathomable if you’re just talking about it what would you say how do those fit together if it can be explained how can it be unfathomable always okay so I think you said something Bible jod talking about how God’s wisdom is so deep you can just mine and mine and mine and you learn more and more and more even as you go through suffering and I think that’s right what God has revealed is definitely unexpected and yet it’s so good it’s so right but God hasn’t revealed everything or even if he has revealed it we haven’t understood everything The Depths are unsearchable I think of the words of David in one of the Psalms where he says I have stilled and quieted my soul like a wean child with its mother like a wean child with me I have not lifted my my heart up to Great matters or to things too lofty for me when we recognize that God is so wise but we cannot fully comprehend his wisdom that helps us in Trials because we can focus on what he has revealed without worrying about what he has not revealed actually being okay with just what he’s given to us and knowing that what God chooses to do is often not going to be what I expect but in the end it will be shown to be evidently wise and good when we arrive to that place where we do not have to know what God is doing in full because of what he what he already revealed to us we’re a long way to trust in God finally is God perfect in love I’m going to use a different verse than Jerry Bridges does please turn to Hebrews 12: 5 and 6 Hebrews 12 5 and six not that the other verse and Lamentations that Bridges brings up is it’s bad no it’s they’re both good good Hebrews 12 I can never find Hebrews Hebrews n the Book of James there it is and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed you as Sons my son do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you are reproved by him For Those whom the Lord loves he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives what is the temp temptation of a child to believe when he undergoes painful discipline from his parents you don’t love me if you love me why would you make me hurt why would you make things difficult for me but if formative or corrective discipline is given according to God’s word and way then such discipline is not a sign of a lack of love but of what of actual love of true sacrificial love even of the love that a father or mother has for his child it’s a it’s a testimony of the parent child relationship that they actually have together so it is the author of Hebrew says with God and the painful trials that he causes us to undergo like discipline they are not a sign of God’s callousness or his lack of love but of God’s love and as his beloved children God will not allow an ounce of discipline to fall on us that is too much or that is not perfectly designed to accomplish our good in God’s glory how should we respond therefore if this is what the Bible declares about God’s love just as the author of Hebrew says do not grow faint in your trials but trust in your father’s perfect love more on that later that brings us to the end of chapter one and the end of lesson one next week our brother Mark twamley will take us through chapter 2 is God control broaching their crucial question of whether God’s sovereignty over evil can truly coexist with God’s Own goodness make sure you’re back to that and that you read the chapter before class if you have questions about today’s lesson please come talk to me afterwards or send me an email let’s close in a word of prayer Lord it’s exciting to dive into these truths again to grow in the knowledge of your word especially when it comes to your sovereignty your wisdom and your love God I pray that just as Jerry Bridges intended I pray God that we would not only celebrate and praise you for these truths but God they would become our conviction that manifest every day when we Face a new trial and we’re tempted not to trust you God that we remember what your word says we cling to these truths and therefore we cling to you and say I don’t don’t understand this hurts but I will continue to be obedient I will continue to love God I will continue to love others because God is doing good and he is glorifying himself I will see this in the end Lord make that my conviction our conviction as a church and bless the other teachers Lord as we all bring this information together