MensBreakfast#2-111613

The Testing of Your Faith – Part 2:  “Passing the Test of Faith”

When we are under a test faith we need to remember that it was designed for our own good, and it is exactly what God has planned for us.

It tests two main areas:

1 – What do I believe about God?

2 – How much do I believe that the test if from God?

Previously the points discussed are:

1.       God tests all believers many times in many different ways.  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

2.       God knows everything about your tests.  (Matthew 11:2-5)

3.       God is with you in every test.  (Daniel 3:15-16; 3:25)

4.       God is ultimately in control at all the time.  (Job 1:13-19)

5.       God has unlimited power.  (Numbers 11:10,13,18-20,22,31-32)

This week:

6.       God expects you to pass the test.  ( Genesis 22:1-2, 16-17)

7.       God has your ultimate good as His purpose.  (Genesis 50:19-20 & Romans 8:28; 8:35, 37-39)

Caution:  If we have your eyes on the task (trial) we will fail because the test is always larger than we are.  If you focus on the test you will grow weary for we need to focus on the Lord. 

In trials it would be helpful for us to recall past actions of God that displayed of His power.  (Creation, red sea, manna from heaven, Jericho, the new church at Pentecost, Christ resurrection, etc.)  Remembering the past helps us to see the ultimate power that God processes.  A power that can just speak man into existence.   Would anything be too big for God to handle?    Think in our own time past occurrences that God has demonstrated His power in our life.

#6 – God expects you to pass the test.  (Genesis 22:1-2, 16-17)

Genesis 22:1–2 (NASB95)  – The Offering of Isaac

          1       Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”  2       He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

God will provide!

Genesis 22:16–17 (NASB95)

          16       and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,  17       indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

God will bless us when we fulfill His tests.

#7 – God has your ultimate good as His purpose.  (Genesis 50:19-20 & Romans 8:28; 8:35, 37-39)

Genesis 50:19-20(ESV)
¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 
²⁰As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^£ should be kept alive, as they are today. 

The test that God gives us has been constructed by Him for our good.  It is unique to us and what we need to see and what is needed for us to see (understand).  Since God is “good” and there was a better way, He’d do it that way.  Consequently the test God gives us is the best test for us and our growth in Him.  Note Romans 8:28:

Romans 8:28(ESV)
²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,^£ for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Ask self, do I believe that there is ever an exception that there was another way to learn the lesson with a different set of circumstances of the trail we are going through?  If you do, then that will be your downfall because God is all power and knowledge.

The point is in Romans 8:35 is that we declare the following as our resolution:

Romans 8:35(ESV)
³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 

Our Belief is that God is acing for our good!   If we believe that it was not for our good, we fail.

How far will we go to believe in God and place our trust in His choices for us?  Every trail is for our good since they are designed for us to teach us what we need to know for our final outcome and future.   Do I believe and therefore trust Him?  Read:  Romans 8:37-39

Romans 8:37-39(ESV)
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 
³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,   ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The outcome of a test is that we learn who He is and our need trust in Him.  It is by His power that we are able to pass through it.  He not only gives us the test, but gives the strength to overcome it.  While we are being led by His hand out of the situation we grow in faith and understanding of who God is and how He works in our lives.

The LOVE OF GOD is over ridding so that it cannot be separated from the believer.  God is there to help!  It can be said that we are people who believe in Him and when a trial comes from Him God, He is there to give us the strength to endure.  The way of victory is between you and what you believe about God.  Will we believe in Him?  The issue is the degree of our belief in God that He is with us and provides a victory through a trail that he sent our way.