THE TESTS FOR DESTINY
The Word of God should be a challenge for us all. It is at it’s best when it becomes confrontational to our lives. I have seen some who seemed to have had a conversion experience, but for no apparent reason fall away from the Lord. They return to their old lifestyles and no longer have a true connection with the Lord.
Some people leave their new-found faith as a result of having to face the challenge of God. This is not the fault of God, but it is how He chooses to deal with us. Let me explain.
Text: I Thessalonians 2:3 & 4
Prayer:
There is a challenge that is sure to face everyone after becoming a Christian. Whether we like it or not, God does test each one of us. Why is this necessary?
The reason is that God desires for His children to walk into a deeper commitment with Him.
There are three steps that God takes with each one of us in developing our purpose and destiny with Him:
Testing – Approval – Entrusting
Actually, the believer’s life is a series of tests. Especially for those who desire more than a mediocre relationship with Him.
God has the goods. He has the tools you need to find your purpose with Him.
God wants to entrust you with those tools. He will do this when you pass His test for approval. Afterwards, He will approve you for His service. Does this sound strange to us?
You see, I may not be interested in finding the “approval of men”, but my spiritual life is determined by the approval of God.
There was once a time (in our nation’s history) when our spiritual leaders fully understood this thinking. It was the early American Puritans that did not trust someone just because they said they were a Christian. This may seem a bit narrow minded in comparison to our way of thinking nowadays, but they insisted that strangers prove their salvation. Not just claim it.
Read Matthew 7:16 thru 20
We need to protect our standards. Not for the purpose of legalism, but because these are the last days. Many of the doctrines of our Christian forefathers have been compromised. This is due (in part) to the recent thinking that we should never judge anyone. To a certain extent, this is true.
But our fruits are determined and judged by the tests from God we endure. One of reasons why God puts tests on all of us is so that we will know the depth of our faith.
When we think about it, the culture we live in has come full circle from where our forefathers came from hundreds of years ago. We need to stop claiming to be Christians, and start proving we are by the way we live.
The tests we experience with our faith in God are actually opportunities for the fruit in our lives to be revealed. We can measure our faith by how much fruit we have in our lives.
But don’t take my word for it. Look at Deuteronomy 8:1 & 2.
1 Chronicles 29:17
"I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness.
You may not quite understand this side of God, but we all have to accept it. This is the way God prepares us before we grow and take on greater depths with the Lord. Newer heights in the Lord will only mean newer challenges. New levels – new devils.
When it comes to testing us, God requires it. And likewise we should desire it. God must test us so that we can know we are capable of doing newer and greater things.
So what kind of test does the Lord put on us?
1. Test of Your Vision – You will know you are in His steps when you start to live by the things you do not see. Likewise, you will no longer be influenced by the things you do see.
Some of you already know the calling on your life. You know what it is that the Lord has created you for. When you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, you are convinced of this.
But when you go home, or go back to work, you can only see the impossible circumstances preventing you from fulfilling that vision God is putting on you. And then comes the test in which you get to see if the vision you have is strong in your heart.
2. Test of Rejection – In every life a little rain must fall. It would be nice if life were that easy. If you want to find that higher level with the Lord, you should realize that you will probably be faced with a deeper pit first.
The word P I T stands for “prophets in training”.
This is evidenced with all of the great men and women of the Old Testament. You can see this in their biographies.
They seem to get this awesome word from God to go and do something miraculous, only to have to first face a great difficulty.
This is no different for us. We get this calling to step out in faith, and we naturally think everything will be great because God is in control of what we are doing. Our thinking is that those nearest and dearest to us are going to be excited for us. We find out that is not the case.
Jesus found this to be the case with those who were close to Him while He was growing up in Nazareth.
Micah 7:6
“…a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.”
Why is all of this important to us?
So that we will know that it is God Who has called us and not man. Oftentimes, this test of rejection is what breaks the ties of our dependence on the approval of men.
3. Test of Forgiveness – This is the test that can prove to be the toughest of them all. If you have any area in your life where you are most likely to fail, it is in this test from God.
You will have to (at some point) decide if you are going to forgive those who have hurt you, or are you going to live your life in bitterness.
Anything you feel is the calling in your life will cause someone to come against you and what you stand for. When you decide to do things that are holy and righteous, you eventually will draw criticism from someone.
What will you do when that happens to you? Will you give up on what you know to be important?
There are 3 things that are critical to remember when you are faced with having to forgive someone:
a) The Bible tells us that if we decide not to forgive God will not for give you.
b) The devil can build a stronghold
c) The root of bitterness can come into our lives and defile our relationship with the Lord and those nearest to us.
4. Test of Stewardship – Luke 16:10 thru 12 tells us that we will not be given blessings in the supernatural until we are faithful in the natural and more simpler/smaller things.
God will always put you into situations that will challenge this test in your life. God will watch us closely in the way we deal with others and what is dear to them.
Oral Roberts has told the story of how he prayed for and laid hands on over 500 people before he saw his bona fide healing.
5. Tests of Discipline – This would mean enduring pain and suffering in cult type religions, i.e., Hinduism and Islam. What it means for us is consistent living and commitment to prayer, fasting and studying the Word of God. Not necessarily an easy task.
God will place you in situations that will demand longer hours to serve the Lord in what ever free time you may or may not have.
There is the discipline of our mouth as described in James 3. Bridling our tongues. Being careful what we say and how we say things that are pleasing to the Lord.
6.Tests of Hard Work – The example we should consider is the labor of giving birth to a baby. We could kid ourselves and try and convince the woman pregnant with her first child that the birth won’t be that difficult. But we would be lying.
It is no different for those wanting to pursue their ultimate calling for the Lord. We have to be ready for hard work and the oppositions we will have to face.
7. Tests of Obedience – This is the ability to clearly hear your instructions from God. This is much like riding a horse. A good horse will obey the bit and bridle. A great horse will obey the movements of the riders legs. Leg cues for direction.
