“THRO’ MANY DANGERS TOILS AND SNARES ”

New Life Bible Church

September 14, 2014

Allen McLauchlin, Pastor

A family friendly, never alone, purpose driven church

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19

These are the words of HIM who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! Revelation 2:9

QUESTION: Why does God allow me to go through various trials and tests?

1. To keep me on the path that He has chosen for me.

But he knows the path that I need to travel. Job 23:10a

There is a path that God HAS NOT chosen and it leads to destruction. Make known to me the path of life; Proverbs 14:12; Psalm 16:11

Search me, God, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Correct me if I am going the wrong way and lead me in the path You have chosen. Psalm 139:23,24

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on path that’s beneficial. Psalm 143:10

I fought the good fight, I finished the race, on the path chosen for me 2 Timothy 4:7

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? The one that stays in HIS lane. 1 Corinthians 9:24

2. To make me better than the original me.

And when he tests me, I will come forth pure as gold. Proverbs 23:10

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Genesis 2:7

But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Jeremiah 18:4

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will become a crown jewel. James 1:12

We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, the Lord blessed him twice as much. James 5:11

3. To keep me from making another or the same foolish mistake.

Because of His test, I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. Job 23:11

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have played the fool and have been terribly wrong”. 1 Samuel 26:21

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with one hands, than to make another foolish mistake with both hands,  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and walk in the wrong direction. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to live in this world with one eye than to have two eyes and still be blind as a bat. Mark 9:43-47

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who continue  to commit the same sins, who are like wine settled in their lees, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’ Zephaniah 1:12

4. To make the WORD more attractive to me.

I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread. Job 23:12

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4

In the year that King Uzziah died, I paid attention to  the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 9:15,16