Preparation For Promotion Part 2: Test of Security
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 8:2; Luke 4:1-4; Ephesians 4:13-15
Introduction:
In my message last week, I shared with you that God has a desire to promote us, to bring us to a stronger place within Him so that He can fully utilize us for the work He has called us to do. I told you last week that there were several tests that we must consistently pass in order to reach that level, hence the term “promotion”. The first test was the test of trust. Do you really believe and trust God that He will do everything that He said He would do? Your trust in God is based on your knowledge of Him and your understanding of what He has said He will do. Do you believe His Word? For you to truly trust God, you must know Him. Our foundational Scripture is found in Ephesians 4:13-15 which says: “….until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (NIV) Again, this Scripture tells us that we should be growing in Christ and with that growth develop the ability to be able to stand in the face of adversity without being tossed back and forth. In this message we will examine a second test, the test of Security which again allows us to be strong and steadfast while we are on the front lines in this spiritual battle.
I. The Test of Security
The word security has several meanings. The meaning that I want you to focus on today is this, “feeling secure; freedom from fear, doubt, etc.” The opposite of this is insecurity which means “not safe from danger; feeling anxiety; not firm or dependable.” God will not place us on the front line of battle if we are not ready. If we are not secure in what we know and believe, we will not be dependable. We will not have that sense that everything will be all right regardless of what we may see in front of us with our eyes. Deuteronomy 8:2 says “You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. As I told you last week, God is not the one who tempts us, but He can use the trials and temptations that we face to prove us. We are going to have troubles sometimes, but the issue is not the trouble. The issue is how we respond to the trouble. If we are in a secure place with God, our response to trouble will be different from that person who does not know if they are standing on a firm foundation with God.
Look at Luke 4:1-4. It says “Jesus, full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, man shall not live on bread alone.” After Jesus had completed His forty day fast, He was tempted by the devil. The first thing that Satan tempted Him with was His security about who He was. He tried to force Jesus to doubt that He was the Son of God. When I was in school we used this tactic to get each other to do something, especially if it pertained to something that would get the person in trouble. The statement would go something like this: “If you’re not scared to do it, prove it.” The point was to get the person to do it by making them prove that they were not too scared to do it. If the person continued to refuse to do it, they were harassed and called “chicken”. By the way, this was call fun. Has the devil ever done that to you? Has he made you doubt who you belong to by trying to get you to prove something? Has he made you doubt the authority in which you are called to walk in? This is how he operates. If he can influence you to become insecure in who you are in Christ, you will walk in that insecurity. He tried to attack Jesus’ security of knowing just who He was. You see, if Satan can convince us that we are not who we claim to be in Christ, then we will stop acting like who we are and begin acting like who we are not. When the devil found nothing in Jesus that he could attach to, He ultimately left Jesus. Jesus passed the test. Had the devil been successful in making Jesus doubt His identity, we would not be here today. The test of security (or insecurity) is a major test for anyone who is going to be used of God, especially those called into the ministry. You will have people question your motivations, your beliefs, and your authority. Even if you are not in ministry, you will be faced with people wanting to know if you truly believe what you are saying and/or doing or if you are play acting. To face this type of opposition, especially from those close to you, you must be very secure in who you are in Christ and what you have been called to do.
Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you know you’re more than a conqueror? Do you know you are forgiven, established and sanctified? If you were asked, would you give the normal answer or would you have to think hard about it? Would you sound religious or would you be able to clearly articulate who you are and what you are to be doing for the Kingdom? We must know within ourselves who we are in Christ for only then can we successfully past the test of security. Our worth and value cannot be tied up in what we do or in what other people think. Only in Jesus Christ can our worth and value be found. Satan is always going to tell you the opposite of what you are in Christ and you must recognize it when he is speaking so you will not fall for his lies. God accepts each of us as we are so He can make us into what we will become. If God has accepted you and has begun to groom you for your future impact on the Kingdom, you need not doubt that what He has begun, He will be able to complete. In order to pass the test of security, there are four things we must understand about insecure people so we will know and recognize insecurity which its tries to come into our lives:
• Insecure people want to do something important in order to feel important. Men especially struggle with this because often times our identities are tied into what we do. If we do not have a job or position that others envy or think is good it is easy to become ashamed of what we do. This same attitude works its way into the Church. It is not enough sometimes to be an usher, I need to be the lead usher. It is not enough to be a trustee, I need to be the head trustee or head deacon or head choir director. Although all of these positions are needed within the Church, they do not define the person who holds the position. When a position you hold defines you, you begin to lose sight of who you really are. In Luke chapter 22, we find a situation where the disciples faced this issue. Luke 22:24 records “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.” It was not enough that they were disciples and close to Jesus, they also wanted to be considered the greatest among each other. God does not call perfect people. What He does is call people and then perfects them. It is hard work trying to prove your worth and that you measure up. With men, it is nearly impossible because we keep raising the bar. You do not need to prove your worth to God, He already knows it. You do not need to prove your worth to Satan. The fact that you belong to God lets him know that you are valuable.
• Insecure people are forced to try and prove and/or impress others with who they are. It is not enough to be settled with who they are, they must also make others believe that they are more than who they are. By appearing so great, our flaws and insecurities are hidden. Jesus does not need to be impressed by who you think you are. You see, He made you. He knows who you are and He knows what you can become. He sees our future while we are still looking at our past and present. Jesus never tried to prove who He was, as a matter of fact, He did the opposite. He was the King, the Messiah, yet John 13:3-5 records this “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, got up from supper and laid aside His garments, and taking a towel, He girded Himself. The He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet....” This was the lowest form of service that a person could perform – washing someone else’s nasty, stinking feet. But look at Jesus’ mindset before he did this. The Scripture said that He knowing that God had given all things into His hand and that He came from and was going back to God, He then washed the disciples’ feet. It was not about position, it was about service. Jesus was secure in who He was and performing this task, which would have offended other leaders, did not bother Him at all. Secure people will do what ever needs to be done without feeling that the job is beneath their position.
• Insecure people crave positions in order to feel secure. Luke 14:8-9 says “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished that you may have been invited by him and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.” I do not know a lot about sports, but I was reading about how the football players had to compete for their positions on the roster. If you wanted to make the team, you had to work hard and beat out someone else. An insecure person craves the best and most visible position because it makes them feel more secure in themselves. With God, our positions are secure. We do not need to compete with anyone else. We do not have to be in front of the Church in order to feel secure that God is working in our lives. When God invites us in, He brings us into the best. He gives us the best place and it is not about what we have done, but who He is.
• Insecure people fear failure and must pass the rejection tests. Isaiah 53:3 says “He was despised and forsaken of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him.” Isaiah was talking about Jesus. Jesus faced rejection daily. He faced it from family, He faced it from friends. He faced it from His enemies and even from those who knew little about Him. Yet through all of this, He never doubted or lost sight of who He was or what He was called to do. The test, whether with a word, a look or a lack of invitation is crucial. Although sometimes as a Christian we fail, it does not mean we are a failure. Some believe that Christians can never do anything wrong and if they do then they were not “really” a Christian. However, the key is whether or not when you fail, do you remain in your failure. Secure people realize that even though they have failed, they can still get up and keep fighting. There is a song that says “We fall down but we get up”. We may fall down, but we must get up. If you are rejected and you temporarily question if you are doing what you is supposed to be doing, stand in your belief. Man’s approval does not equate to God’s approval likewise man’s disapproval does not mean that God disapproves.
Every one of us must pass the test of security. In the face of adversity, trials and tribulations, we must know without a shadow of doubt who we are and what we have available to us. To be promoted by God into what He has for us, we must be secure, not doubting our position. Our worth and our value cannot be tied to what we do or what others think. Our worth and value is found in knowing Jesus Christ.
Next week we will examine the test of faithfulness. God Bless.
