Gods Will

These are my notes from church, I thought a few people could benefit from them.

1 Peter 4:12-19:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,
"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:12-19 NIV)

Sometimes our problems is Gods will for us.

Most of the time God uses hard times to refocus us.

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV)

God gave the Israelites chance after chance to show their faith for God and they failed so He sent them through another trail until they got it right.

The hotter the fire the purer the gold will be. The harder our trials the better we'll be when it's over.

Psalms 199:71
It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees. (Psalm 119:71 NIV)

Trials can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks, you choose.

*Hebrews 12:6-8
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. (Hebrews 12:6-8 NIV)

God corrects us because He loves us. If He didn't correct us it would me He didn't love us...

Genius 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20 NIV)

People mean to harm us but God means to protect us. No one can harm us because God has His hands wrapped around us. If we stay inside the protected arms of God we are safe because the world can't get past God. They can yell at us but never get to us.

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, 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. (James 1:2-4 NIV)

God does everything to teach us.
God teaches us in two ways. Through the word and through problems. The more time we spend in the word the less time God needs to teach us through problems.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV)

What do we do when we have a problem?