Intro: If you have ever been to a cardiologist, you probably know what a stress test is like. They hook you up to a monitor, then put you on a treadmill, turning up the speed until the monitor reveals the condition of your heart. And all the while, you’re walking your feet off trying to keep up with the treadmill.
After several sweaty minutes, the treadmill is turned off and the monitor completes its printed read out. Those results tell the cardiologist the true condition of your heart.
In a similar manner, God puts us all through stress tests at different times in our lives. He does this not to precipitate a heart attack but to give us a diagnosis concerning the condition of our faith.
There’s something about seeing an actual printout of an EKG that keeps us from fooling ourselves about the condition of our hearts. And there’s something about the results of God’s tests that forces us to come to grips with the condition of our faith. We may be able to fake it in the pew or at prayer meetings, but God’s strenuous testing shows our faith for what it is.
But these tests are not designed only to reveal some weakness in our faith. They are designed to strengthen it as well. That rigorous exercise on a sometimes tedious treadmill of tests can move us from a sedentary faith to an aerobic, active faith.
I. A Biblical Look At The Levels Of Testing We Experience In Christian Life. (2Cor. 4:8-9)
A. The most moderate level of testing is “affliction”.
1. The NIV puts it as “Hard pressed.”
a) Other translations use, crushed, troubled on every side or pressed on every side.
b) The original Greek where these different English words come from is, thlibo, which has the idea of being in a large crowd and feeling pressure from every side.
2. This level of tests includes those tests that come from other people.
a) From deadlines, from delays.
b) From irritating interruptions.
B. The second level is being, “perplexed”
1. This term means, without a way” and suggests confusion.
a) This idea of not knowing where to go or who to turn to when the speed of the treadmill is turned up and ordinary pressures intensify.
2. This includes circumstances where we are subjected to unfair people.
3. When we have difficulty making sense of it all and knowing what to do.
C. The third level is, “persecution.”
1. This term means, “To run after, to pursue.”
2. These are the more extreme tests in life, when not only is the treadmill turned all the way up, but a pit bull is hot on your heels.
3. Persecution can attack in a number of different areas: physical, emotional, financial, social, and spiritual.
a) It is a direct attack.
b) It seems that it just won’t stop and continues to chase after you.
D. The forth level is being “struck down.”
1. This term means to be thrown down, tossed aside, rejected.
a) This is the deepest level, the ultimate test.
b) It could be the tearing down or taking away of that which is most precious and dear to your heart.
2. Many times it involves disability or death.
3. For Abraham, the ultimate test involved the fate of his beloved son.
Trans: Scripture records Abraham’s excruciating test in two separate places. The telescopic overview is recorded in Hebrews 11. The microscopic analysis is given to us in Gen. 22. Let’s look through both lenses this morning and see what help the 3,800 year old test offers for us today.
II. We Can Learn From Abraham’s Ultimate Test.
A. Abraham’s response to a level-four test was one of unquestioning trust in God. (Heb. 11:17-19)
1. Imagine the shock Abraham must have felt when God told him to sacrifice Isaac.
a) Put yourself in his shoes for a minute and try to make sense of the command from God.
b) Imagine the disillusionment.
2. How could a compassionate God impose such a cruel test?
a) How could a God who is faithful to his promise now seemingly go back on that promise?
b) How could a fair God take away that which He had given?
3. Shock and disillusionment are common reactions to a level-four test.
4. Abraham’s response, however, was one of unquestioning trust.
a) He knew that God couldn’t lie.
b) He knew that God wasn’t going to give a gift and then pull it away just as we reach out to grab it.
5. Therefore, raising Isaac from the dead was the logical conclusion of faith’s reasoning.
Trans: We have gotten a look at the broad picture in Hebrews 11; now let’s look closer with a view towards the stories details in gen. 22.
B. The details of Abraham’s test show great faith (Gen. 22:1-13).
1. In these first two verses we once again can look at the way that God refers to Isaac. (vss. 1-2)
a) “Your son, your only son, whom you love.”
b) This was the apple of Abraham’s eye!
2. Don’t think for a moment that God doesn’t know about those things that we come close to idolizing.
a) He can name every idol in our lives.
b) He knows every precious possession.
c) He knows every relationship that competes for His love.
3. He knew about that apple of Abraham’s eye and God also knew that it was time to put things in their proper priority and perspective.
4. Abraham’s response to this test is nothing short of remarkable. (3-10)
C. Four lessons from Abraham’s faith.
1. Abraham’s faith was immediate.
a) Abraham didn’t stew over his situation.
b) He didn’t pace the floor.
c) He didn’t worry or try to renegotiate with god.
d) No excuses, no procrastination.
e) His obedience rose bright and early in the morning.
2. His faith was characterized by confidence. (v.5)
a) Did you catch the line in verse 5?
b) “We will worship, and then we will come back to you.”
c) Now that is strong faith!
d) He knew he was going up that mountain to kill his son.
e) But he also knew just as assuredly that he would be coming back down the mountain with his son alive.
f) So confident was Abraham in his faith that he viewed this expedition not as an act of teeth-gritting obedience, but as an opportunity for worship.
3. His faith was based on the character of God. (v.7)
a) “But daddy, where is our animal for the sacrifice?”
b) This boy had offered up sacrifices to God with his father before.
c) He knew the process, he knew something was missing.
d) And his father gave the only possible reply, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.”
e) What better response can we offer our children in the face of need.
4. His faith was not half-hearted but whole-hearted.
a) Abraham didn’t make any excuses and he didn’t leave himself an escape hatch.
b) He didn’t leave behind the materials for the altar.
c) He didn’t bring along an extra lamb, just in case.
d) He went as far as to bind his only son and raise the knife.
e) He planned to do it, and do it right.
5. But God came through! (vv. 11-13)
a) It was as if God could say, “now I know, and you know, Abraham. We know you revere me more than you love Him.”
b) The test was over, and Abraham had passed.
6. How was Abraham able to come through this difficult test with such awesome passing grades?
a) The answer is back in Heb. 11:19.
b) The word “reasoned” means to “calculate, to take into account, to consider and think through.”
c) The idea is that, mentally, he brought God into his reasoning.
d) As he chose his response to this terrible test, he took into account all he knew about God.
7. This is crucial for all of us to understand and apply to our lives.
a) We must invite God into our thought processes so as to respond in faith!
b) We bring all we understand about God to bear on every decision and difficulty we face.
III. Principles For Today In Persevering During Times of Testing.
A. God’s will always requires Obedience.
1. It doesn’t require understanding.
a) We should never think that we have to have all the answers ahead of time.
b) It may not even make sense humanly speaking.
c) Kind of like a couple waiting till they can afford to have children. – The child will never come!
2. Instead, God’s will requires obedience.
a) We can kick, scream, and holler, even shake our fist at God, but in the end, God will have His way.
b) The best that we can do in the midst of any difficulty and test is to listen to God and obey Him.
3. When pressure comes, when conflict crowds around you, when life seems to be giving you a beating.
a) We must invite God into our reasoning and thoughts, as we think through the problems.
b) Then we must respond like Abraham in faith, doing what is pleasing to God and obedient to Him.
B. God’s plan is never fully explained.
1. We often forget this truth but it is true.
a) How often we try to second-guess God’s intentions in the depths of our own pain.
b) How often have we cried an anguished “why?” to a silent sky?
2. Yet, our heavenly Father doesn’t explain the end at the beginning.
3. He shows us only what he wants us to see.
a) We need to step forward in faith believing in God to come through.
b) That is both frightening and invigorating!
4. There is no better place to be than to be walk8ing in faith.
a) Granted, the unknown and fear will threaten us and try to dissuade us from moving forwarding faith.
b) But, the results of walking in faith are so amazing that it is well worth the struggle.
C. Our response invariably reveals our theology.
1. Whether you are a seminary graduate or you have never attended a Sunday School class, you have what is called, “A personal theology.”
a) The word means, “Belief about God.”
b) When calamity strikes, when the bottom falls out.
c) Your theology will be the only thing left.- Your belief about God.
d) If a test comes and you turn and run, it speaks volumes about your belief in God.
e) If a test comes and you stand and face it with a determined gentleness of spirit so as to bring glory to God, it too speaks volumes about your personal belief in God.
2. So our personal theology will either be the life preserver that keeps us afloat or it will be the weights around our feet that pull us under.
Conclusion: A treadmill test can mean only a little bit of perspiration on your forehead if you are in good shape.
What kind of shape are your muscles of faith in? How steady is your pulse when the next hurdle appears? Now’s the time to build up your heart – before the speed of the treadmill is turned up and the test becomes strenuous.
On December 29, 1987, a Soviet cosmonaut returned to the earth after 326 days in orbit. He was in good health, which hasn’t always been the case in those record-breaking voyages. Five years earlier, touching down after 211 days in space, two cosmonauts suffered from dizziness, high pulse rates, and heart palpitations. They couldn’t walk for a week, and after 30 days, they were still undergoing therapy for atrophied muscles and weakened hearts. At zero gravity, the muscles of the body begin to waste away because there is no resistance. To counteract this, the Soviets prescribed a vigorous exercise program for the cosmonauts. They invented the "penguin suit," a running suit laced with elastic bands. It resists every move the cosmonauts make, forcing them to exert their strength. Apparently the regimen is working.
We often long dreamily for days without difficulty, but God knows better. The easier our life, the weaker our spiritual fiber, for strength of any kind grows only by exertion.
