Q? How mature are you?
The key to effective living is knowing how you can handle these two things:
1st The Expected
When you are expecting something, you can handle them better; but there are those who still crumble and fall even when they know it is coming.
2nd The Unexpected
When things happen unexpectedly, suddenly and without warning – how do you react?
If you live by faith, God will boast about you – not of your wealth or your genius, but about your perseverance in all the persecutions and trials you have endured.
Our faith becomes our reputation – what we believe and how we endure, even suffer for what we believe. Every character in the Bible, we have come to know them because of what they went through and how they went through it. They have become famous in heaven by what they have conquered by faith.
It is the same with us today, your faith is only as strong as to what you are able to conquer and survive. Your greatest possession is your faith, it is your only defense against all the plans of the enemy. Your worth in the Kingdom of God is tied to the perseverance, trials, and sufferings you endure and are able to overcome.
MATURITY In The FAITH 3
You cannot trust anything that has not passed the test…you won’t buy it, you won’t eat it because you simply don’t trust it.
Can you trust a person who has not been tested?
Will you allow a person who failed the medical board to perform surgery for you or your loved one?
John 9:1-2
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” NKJV
Why were they asking Jesus who sinned?
Because many have developed the idea that testing is a result of sin; that when someone is going through a test, that person is out of God’s will. This is a very dangerous misconception – although it is right that when we are experiencing defeat or loss, we conduct a self examination.
True enough, often, we plunge into troubles because of the wrong choices and decisions we’ve made. It’s good to know these things so we can make amendments and corrections. People build a thesis of negative things whenever a person goes through a test!
John 9:3
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
John 11:4
When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
The word Glory is the Hebrew word “Doxa” which means nature, true weight, or heavy; it can also be interpreted as strength. The Glory of God reveals His nature, His true weight, even His strength. You will know the strength of a person by the weight he can lift…not all testing is demonic activity.
Testing is part of the design in the system of faith. God allowed that blindness so He can show that He has the power to make the blind see. God even allowed death to come to Lazarus so that He can show that He can bring the dead back to life. It is not blindness nor the seeing that is important–what is important is that God can reveal His works, and His Glory be made manifest.
It’s for us to see today, He will never change – yesterday, today, and forever!
God’s power is revealed in tests!
2 Cor 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
If tests reveal the Glory of God, I think we need more tests. 80% of the Bible are full of people who had so many problems and troubles…if I were to write the Bible, I wouldn’t put them there.
Abraham didn’t have a son.
Jacob was a thief.
Moses was a murderer and a stutterer.
But you see, that’s what made them great–God was able to see them through and even used them so mightily. The God we serve proves us in times of troubles, but be assured, He is carrying us.
He knows His plans for you, you may be weak now but He is proving you so He can use you for something great tomorrow. Remember this: The most important power you possess is your faith – if you lose your faith, you have already lost.
Your faith is the only thing that threatens the devil – as long as you have faith, the devil cannot succeed. Your faith is your only protection against all the works of the enemy, plus it creates confidence in your life.
Without faith, you cannot be confident!
Without faith, you will begin to question many things – you will begin to grow weak and feel like all the forces of the earth are against you!
A man who has lost his belief and conviction has also lost his purpose, you no longer have any reason to live.
How can one know you have faith?
It is manifested by the tests you encounter.
Sometimes God delays the answers to your prayers – what will you do while waiting? (Saul/David) God is not impressed by your bragging how good God is to you – He watches you when the good things stop to happen. Your faith is only as strong as the tests it survives.
The testing of your faith is God’s pre-requisite for trusting you. God will never trust what He didn’t test, so if you consider testing negative, God will never trust you!
Even Jesus was tested (tempted)!
Luke 4:1-2
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil.
The Hebrew word for tempt is ‘peirazo’ which means to test, to scrutinize, to discipline; tempt and test are the same. Jesus went into the wilderness filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:14
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
He returned in the power – so He can face the next test/temptation!
Luke 4:16/28-29
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.
So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
It was immediately a test of rejection!
Luke 4:33
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon…
Next!
If God allowed His own Son to be tested, who do you think you are?
God will prove your faith not to know if you have, but to manifest it.
Who of you have prayed this prayer?
LORD USE ME!!!
If you did – be ready for the tests! You have to be qualified to be trusted.
REMEMBER: you are tougher than what you are going through!
Q? What is the object of your faith?
The source of your faith determines the quality of your faith, where did your faith come from?
While the object of your faith determines the size of your faith, where is your faith directed to?
The reason why many get disappointed with people is because we put our faith in people. The source and the object of your faith controls your belief system – if your belief is in people, when they change, then you lose your faith in them, like in marriage.
But if you put your faith in God, no matter what happens, you know that you know, God will never change – so your faith will never change.
PROBLEM: many don’t know the God whom they have faith in!
That’s why we need to study and learn because the more you know God, the bigger your faith becomes.
Your faith is as sure as where you put it in (e.g. a chair).
Is your faith in a church org, or the building, or the pastor, or in God?
The stability of your faith is determined by the stability of where you put it.
PROBLEM: many Christians measure God by what He does – so when He doesn’t do what you believe He should or would do, you lose faith.
Your faith is only as stable as to where you put it – where did you put it na nga? in the church, blessing, job, business, pastor…
Mark 11:22 says “Have faith in God”,
He is the only one who is stable!
1 Tim 6:11-12
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Don’t Fight The Devil
Fight The Good Fight Of Faith!
The devil is not our ultimate enemy.
Our ultimate enemy is doubt!
The job of the enemy is to make you doubt what God told you and what He promised you. You don’t lose when you lose the blessing; you lose when you lose your faith…that’s a disaster. Don’t worry, if you have faith, your faith can always get back the blessing!
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
The devil will tell you that you are not saved, take hold of the eternal life you have received by faith. Confess it to everyone you come across with..