rec0210-113425<\/a><\/p>\n The story is told of a construction worker who called in sick. And though this had never happened before, the foreman demanded a written excuse. This is what he received:<\/span><\/p>\n When I got to the building I found that the hurricane had knocked off some bricks around the top. So I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted up a couple barrels full of bricks. When I had fixed the damaged area, there were a lot of bricks left over [So I threw the bricks in the barrel and] then I went to the bottom and began releasing the line. Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was much heavier than I was \u201d\u201c and before I knew what was happening the barrel started coming down, and I started going up. I decided to hang on since I was too far off the ground by then to jump, and halfway up I met the barrel of bricks coming down fast. I received a hard blow to my shoulder, but I held on.<\/p>\n I then continued to the top, banging my head against the beam and getting my fingers pinched and jammed in the pulley. When the barrel hit the ground hard, it burst its bottom, allowing the bricks to spill out. I was now heavier than the barrel. So I started down again at high speed. Halfway down I met the barrel coming up fast and received severe injuries to my legs. When I hit the ground I landed on the pile of spilled bricks, getting several painful cuts and deep bruises. At this point I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go of my grip on the line. The barrel came down fast \u201d\u201c giving me another blow on my head and putting me in the hospital. I respectfully request sick leave.<\/p>\n OUCH!<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u201d\u2122ve just begun a new Bible Study entitled, \u201cWhen Life is Hard: Turning Your Trials to Gold\u201d.<\/p>\n Have you ever felt like the construction worker in the story\u201d\u00a6perhaps not physically (though some may have), but I\u201d\u2122m thinking more about the times you simply feel beat up by life.<\/p>\n Maybe it was a relationship or perhaps a financial low or maybe the death of a loved one or serious illness you\u201d\u2122ve endured personally\u201d\u00a6or perhaps it was a conglomeration of fairly difficult things that, taken individually wouldn\u201d\u2122t have been too tough, but they all converged in one moment of time and you felt like you were down for the count\u201d\u00a6done.<\/p>\n James MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n As uncomfortable as helplessness may be, it\u201d\u2122s what God is going for when He disciplines (think \u201ctrains\u201d) us.<\/p>\n I want to look at two passages this morning and share two truths that I think are really important for us to grasp as we think about life every day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1.\u00a0God is Close in the Hard Times<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Life is just hard.\u00a0 But we need to understand what God is up to in the process.\u00a0 Now, we\u201d\u2122ll be dealing with this more in the weeks ahead, so I\u201d\u2122m just going to go through this text quickly and hit the high spots.<\/p>\n Hebrews 12:4-10 (MSG)<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-10\u00a0<\/sup>In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through\u201d\u201dall that bloodshed! So don\u201d\u2122t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his<\/em> children?<\/p>\n My dear child, don\u201d\u2122t shrug off God\u201d\u2122s discipline, God is educating you; that\u201d\u2122s why you must never drop out. He\u201d\u2122s treating you as dear children.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n James MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n As uncomfortable as helplessness may be, it\u201d\u2122s what God is going for when He disciplines (think \u201ctrains\u201d) us.<\/p>\n This trouble you\u201d\u2122re in isn\u201d\u2122t punishment; it\u201d\u2122s training<\/em>, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God\u201d\u2122s training so we can truly live<\/em>? While we were children, our parents did what seemed<\/em> best to them. But God is doing what is<\/em> best for us, training us to live God\u201d\u2122s holy best.<\/p>\n Hebrews 12:11<\/strong> (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 11\u00a0<\/sup>No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening\u201d\u201dit\u201d\u2122s painful! But<\/em> afterward<\/em> there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way<\/em>.<\/p>\n James MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n God allows challenging circumstances in our lives for a reason\u201d\u00a6Difficulties should make us think, God is close!<\/em><\/p>\n God is close in the hard times!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2.\u00a0God WILL Finish His Good Work in Us, No Matter How Hard Life Is<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/sup>Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4\u00a0<\/sup>Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5\u00a0<\/sup>for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6\u00a0<\/sup>And I am certain that God, who began the good work<\/em> within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.<\/p>\n What is this \u201cgood work\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n It\u201d\u2122s the good work of God\u201d\u2122s grace in our lives!<\/p>\n And what all does that entail?\u00a0 It\u201d\u2122s everything from God graciously bringing us to the place where we acknowledge our need for forgiveness and righteousness and trust Jesus\u201d\u2122 life and death on the Cross to cover us\u201d\u00a6to God graciously working in our lives to change us and make us more like Jesus\u201d\u201dmore in love with God and more gracious to others \u00a0because we are learning just how much God loves us\u201d\u00a6to God graciously taking us finally to spend eternity with Him where we will forever be blown away by grace because we\u201d\u2122ll always know God\u201d\u2122s grace in Jesus is the only reason we\u201d\u2122re there!<\/p>\n THAT is the good work!<\/p>\n And verses 9-11 show us what it looks like in life as God is doing this work in us.<\/p>\n 9\u00a0<\/sup>I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10\u00a0<\/sup>For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ\u201d\u2122s return. 11\u00a0<\/sup>May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation\u201d\u201dthe righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ\u201d\u201dfor this will bring much glory and praise to God.<\/p>\n We become more loving and gracious as God does His work of grace in our lives!<\/p>\n That kind of makes sense, doesn\u201d\u2122t it? J<\/p>\n Now…we need to make a vital connection at this point.<\/p>\n Trials are the normal course for that \u201cgood work\u201d of God awakening grace in us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n That is so important to get hold of!<\/p>\n Sometimes I think we read verse 6 and we don\u201d\u2122t connect God\u201d\u2122s training\/discipline\u201d\u201dthe hard times of life\u201d\u201dwith the \u201cgood work\u201d He\u201d\u2122s doing.\u00a0 Somehow in our minds we translate the \u201cgood work\u201d to somehow be the parts of life that actually feel good, when, in reality, it\u201d\u2122s not those parts that really and truly do us the most good.<\/p>\n Trials are the normal course for that \u201cgood work\u201d of God awakening grace in us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n God WILL finish His good work in us, no matter how hard life is!<\/strong><\/p>\n I need to be reminded of that often, because that is very encouraging stuff!<\/p>\n God is close in the hard times.\u00a0 And God will finish His good work in you, no matter how hard life is!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I close with an excerpt from Chuck Swindoll\u201d\u2122s book, Grace Awakening<\/span>.<\/p>\n Chuck Swindoll<\/strong><\/p>\n Want a boost of encouragement? Our God is working toward that end in all of His children. It is His constant pursuit, His daily agenda, as He points us toward our final destination, “the Celestial City,” as Bunyan calls it. Having cleansed our hearts of the debris of inward corruptions and the dust of sin’s domination, God is now daily at work awakening grace within us, perfecting our character and bringing it to completion.<\/p>\n As I think about our becoming people of awakening grace, I believe at least three things are involved in the process:<\/p>\n First, it takes time<\/strong>. Learning anything takes time. Becoming good models of grace, it seems, takes years! Like wisdom, it comes slowly. But God is in no hurry as He purges graceless characteristics from us<\/em>. But we can count on this, for sure: He is persistent.<\/p>\n Second, it requires pain<\/strong>. The “dust” in our room doesn’t settle easily. I know of no one who has adopted a “grace state of mind” painlessly. Hurt is part of the curriculum in God’s schoolroom.<\/p>\n Third, it means change<\/strong>. Being “graceless” by nature, we find it difficult to be anything different. We lack it, we resist it, we fail to show it, but God never stops His relentless working. He is committed to our becoming more like His Son<\/em>. Remember? “He who began a good work . . . will carry it on to completion” (NIV).<\/p>\n God is close in the hard times.\u00a0 And God will finish His good work in you, no matter how hard life is!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message by Chad Kelly rec0210-113425 The story is told of a construction worker who called in sick. And though this had never happened before, the foreman demanded a written excuse. This is what he received: When I got to the … Continue reading <\/h3>\n
Hard Times and Good Work<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
\nbut don\u201d\u2122t be crushed by it either.
\nIt\u201d\u2122s the child he loves that he disciplines;
\nthe child he embraces, he also corrects.<\/p>\n