Understanding and Developing a Christ Centered Life

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Have You Considered The Purpose of Your Trials ?

• 
  (James 11-8)

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I. Trials Expose and Develop Your Faith
(James 11-3)

• James a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus
  Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered
  abroad Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy
  when you fall into various trials, knowing that
  the testing of your faith produces patience.

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Trials

• A. Trials expose what you depend on apart
• from God that you may turn from it and
• turn to God to build true hope in Him
• alone.

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Trials

• B. Trials expose who you depend on apart
• from God that you may turn from them
• and turn to God to build true hope in Him
  
• alone.

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Trials

• C. Trials expose what you truly believe about God
  in real time that you may make the necessary
  adjustments to build true hope in Him alone.

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II. Trials Expose and Develop Your
Endurance/Patience (v3)

• Knowing that the testing of your faith
  produces patience.

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Trials

• A. Trials expose how you handle delays and teach
  you how to persevere and stay godly as you work
  through them.

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Trials

• B. Trials expose how you handle denial and teach
  you how to persevere and stay godly as you work
  through it.

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Trials

• C. Trials expose how you handle disruptions and
  teach you how to persevere and stay godly as you
  work through them.

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Trials

• D. Trials expose how you handle devastations and
  teach you how to persevere and stay godly as you
  work through them.

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III. Trials that are endured expose and
develop your character (v4)

• But let patience have its perfect work, that you
  may
• be perfect and complete lacking nothing.

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Trials

• A. Trials expose your immature and sinful
  thoughts, words, actions, and expectations
  towards God and lead you to replace them by
  developing godly thoughts, words, actions and
  expectations towards God.

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Trials

• B. Trials expose your immature and sinful
  thoughts, words, actions, and expectations
  towards others and lead you to replace them by
  developing godly thoughts, words, actions and
  expectations towards others.

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Trials

• C. Trials expose your immature and sinful
  thoughts, words, actions, and expectations
  towards life and lead you to replace them by
  developing godly thoughts, words, actions and
  expectations towards life.

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IV. Consider this about your trials ( v5- v8)

• If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
  who
• gives to all liberally and without reproach, and
  it will be
• given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no
• doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
  sea
• driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that
  man
• suppose that he will receive anything from the
  Lord
• he is a double-minded man unstable in all his
  ways.

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Trials

• A. If we humble ourselves before God,
  acknowledge that we need Him and do not
  stubbornly insist on our way, God will respond by
  giving us Divine help to walk in His will
  through the trial (concept by Jim Berg in When
  Trouble Comes)

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Trials

• B. If we dont believe that God will help us we
  cant expect Him to.

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Trials

• C. If we dont believe that God will help us we
  will be indecisive about our choices, hesitant in
  our choices, and divided in our choices as we go
  back and forth between trusting God and trusting
  ourselves.

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Trials

• D. If we dont believe that God will help us we
  will live a life that is unstable, complicated,
  and destructive, because we know the Truth of
  Gods Word but live by the lies of Satans world.