robably one of the more controversial subjects on
the Christian life, is the subject of testing and trials. Because the spiritual life
at times seems so difficult, and because we are always facing problems in life, most of us
have come to accept the existence of trials. Unfortunately the vast majority of
Christians have come to the conclusion that these things are our lot in life, and we just
have to accept them. The Lord has a purpose for them, and we must just submit to
His will.
Others go further to say that the purpose for these trials is to keep us humble, and
they major on teachings such as Paul's thorn in the flesh, which kept him from being
exalted. I can well remember the words of an old song that we used to sing many
years ago, entitled Farther Along. The first part went like this:
Tempted and tried, we're oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long
While there are others living about us
Never molested though in the wrong.
Farther along, we'll know all about it
Farther along, we'll understand why
Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine
We'll understand it all by and by.
And the message that came across loud and clear, was that God will sometimes cause
trials and temptations in our lives. We don't always understand the purpose for it,
but one day in heaven we'll understand why He caused these things in our lives. I
have learned since then that this is not at all the picture painted by the Scriptures but
comes as a result of not understanding the true nature or purpose of trials.
Two Kinds of Test
Now I want to begin by explaining to you very clearly what the Scriptures teach
concerning testing and trials in the life of a believer. To understand the subject
fully you need to be aware of the existence of two different types of test or trial.
The Greek language that the New Testament was written in uses two different words
to describe these two different kinds of test. I am going to give you these two
words and their meaning, and then we will look at a few Scriptures that use these two
words.
Peirazo - the Pressure Test
This word is translated mostly as tempt or temptation in the New Testament. It is
a kind of test that is designed to expose the weaknesses and flaws. It is derived
from another work which means 'to pierce through.' So it can also mean assay or
expose to stress for the purpose of testing. It is the kind of test that you would
put a piece of metal to in the laboratory, to see how strong it is and what will make it
break. It is the kind of test that Satan uses against us to expose our weaknesses
and find our breaking points.
It is the same word that was used to describe those who came to bring Jesus trick
questions to try and catch Him out. It is always a test designed to expose weakness
and failure, and it is never used of God. In fact James is quite emphatic about this
and tells us that God does not tempt or test in this way. It is not necessary after
all, because God knows all about us and does not need to use this kind of test to find out
our strengths and weaknesses.
But Satan does not know our strengths and weaknesses. The only way he can find
out is to apply a test and see how we respond. And actually we as humans can use the
exact same method to expose both our weaknesses and the weaknesses of others. Just
push a little on a person, and you will soon find out what is inside of them. Apply
a little pressure in the right place and you will soon find out what makes them tick.
I will be explaining in due course how the Lord actually uses this attack of the enemy
by causing us to come into a place where the enemy attacks and tempts. And then when
this takes place our weaknesses are exposed and we go to the Lord to have them removed.
Until we come to the place where there is nothing more to expose.
Here are some examples of this kind of testing in Scripture
Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us
from evil: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear,
receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time
of temptation fall away.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There has no test taken you but that which is
common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not permit you to be tested beyond what you
are able [to bear]; but will with the test also make a way to escape, that you may be able
to bear [it].
James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, consider it all joy when you fall into various kinds of trials;
3 Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have [its] complete work, that you may be mature and complete, lacking
nothing.
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am [being] tested
by God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He test any man:
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Dokomazo - the Examination Test
This word also means to test, but it has a completely different idea. The test
that this word refers to is not the kind of test that exposes weaknesses. It is the
kind of test you write when you sit down at the end of a learning cycle. You have
been instructed and taught, and now you are given the opportunity to prove yourself and
show if you understood and remembered what was being taught. The purpose of the test
is to cause you to become qualified in a subject and as a result receive some kind of
promotion.
In fact, assuming that you understood and learned what was being taught, you are not
expected to fail this test. It is expected that you will pass and receive a
certificate to show that you have attained a new level of learning. This word is usually
translated as prove or approve. And that is the kind of test that the Lord applies
to us. He wants us to qualify and be promoted.
Here are some passages of Scripture that describe this kind of testing.
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ:
2 Corinthians 8:22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom
we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much
more diligent, upon the great confidence which [I have] in you.
1 Timonty 3:10 And let these also first be proved;
then let them use the office of a deacon, being [found] blameless.
1 Corinthians 11:19 For there must also be divisions among you,
that those who have been approved may be made known among you.
2 Corinthians 10:18 For not he that commends himself is approved,
but whom the Lord commends.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew yourself approved
by God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
God's Training School
I have considered above the fact that God does not apply tests in the sense of causing
temptation and pressure to come upon us to expose sin and weaknesses in us. This is
the work of the enemy of our souls. He wants to expose our weaknesses so that he can
know where to attack us the most and where we are likely to fall. And in fact this
is the only way that he can tell where our weaknesses are. So he uses all the
weapons that are at his disposal to cause conflict, strife and problems in life as well as
all the temptations of the world and the flesh. And when we respond to these
temptations, we immediately show him where our weaknesses are.
Sometimes you might think that if you just gave in to this temptation now, you can
resist it better next time. But that is a sad mistake. Because next time the
enemy knows exactly where to hit you. You showed him where when you yielded to his
temptation. Remember that Satan is not all knowing like God and he cannot tell what
is inside you unless you show him. So the more you resist temptation, the more you
are likely to show him that this is not an area of weakness, and you are not going to give
in. After a while he gets the message that it is a waste of time attacking you in
this area, and you will see the attack start to fade away.
But this is not a study on the work of Satan - I have covered that elsewhere.
What I want to look at here is how the Lord trains us to overcome sin in our lives and
enter into a greater dimension of victory. Anyone who has known the Lord for a long
time and has lived a bit as a Christian knows that the Christian life is never easy.
There are lots of things that come against you as you try to serve the Lord.
But those who have made up their minds to go all out for God and commit themselves wholly
to Him know that when you do this it does not get easier. In fact it gets tougher.
How often have you seen people who live in a way that is not pleasing to the Lord and
His Word. Yet often they do not seem to suffer many problems in life. It looks
like things are going well for them. And then you look at those who have committed
themselves to a deeper walk with God, and their lives seem to be filled with many
problems. I know that there was a time in my life where in my desire to know the
Lord better and server Him more fully I would commit myself more to Him and ask Him to
draw me closer to Him. And what was the result? Tribulation and problems.
Spiritual Boot Camp
I remember one day crying out to the Lord and saying, "Lord it's not fair.
How come I am facing so many problems since I committed myself more fully to you and
others who don't care are having a great life?" He reminded me of the time in
my youth when I was called up to do National Military Service in the country I was living
in at that time. As a young 18 year old I was draughted to go to boot camp to be
trained and sent out against the enemy of the land.
I'll never forget the day my parents dropped me off, along with a lot of other guys,
and we were ushered into a place where we had to fill in papers and have medical
examinations and all sorts of red tape procedures. I remember there was one man
there who appeared to be a staff sergeant, and he was very friendly and helpful, showing
me where to go and what to do. I began to feel a bit more comfortable and wondered
if all the stories I had heard about military service were really true.
Then all the paperwork was over and we were assembled as a group and this friendly man
came over to speak to us. Suddenly this person that I thought was so nice and
helpful, became public enemy number one. He opened his mouth and screamed at us.
"You're in the army now!" he shouted, and with many expletives proceeded
to let us know in no uncertain terms that he was going to make our lives hell until we
learned to do as we were told.
So began a time in my life where I discovered muscles that I did not know existed in my
body. Where I found that I could do with less sleep at night than I was used to.
That I could actually walk great distances at a time. And that I could learn
to walk in step with a bunch of other people and keep my appearance neat all the time and
learn to shut my mouth until I was asked to speak. I learned to jump when I was told
to and not to question what I was told to do. And by the time it was all over I was
a different person to what I was when it all started.
And the Lord showed me that He did not force me to go into His army. I had done
so willingly. I had volunteered for His service and had very fervently prayed
without realizing what I was saying, "Lord break me and make me into a vessel for
your use." I had signed up for boot camp. And now suddenly the going was
getting rough and I was starting to complain about. Yet He was only doing exactly
what I asked Him to do.
Death by Crucifixion
Paul declared in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." The Christian life is
a crucified life. Jesus declared in Matthew 16:24
If any
[man] wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
He was saying that if you want to follow Him all the way, then you are going to have to
be prepared to have the cross applied also to your life. The old you has to die
before you can walk in newness of life. But how does a person crucify their flesh?
Have you ever seen anyone commit suicide by crucifixion? It just cannot be
done. You have to let someone else do it for you. The best you can do is lift
your hands up to the cross and let someone nail you. And even then death does not
come instantly. There is always a period of suffering before the person dies.
In fact death on the cross only really takes place when the person becomes so weary
that they cannot fight or push against the nails any more. Then they suffocate and
die. Remember when Jesus was crucified the Romans wanted to break the legs of those
on the cross, so that they could no longer push up against the cross and they would die.
But Jesus had learned to die quickly. Instead of fighting the death and
holding out as long as possible, He had willingly given up His spirit. He died
without a fight.
Are you beginning to get a picture here?
When you commit yourself to the Lord and ask Him to make you into a vessel fit for the
master's use, then you are signing up for boot camp. And you are submitting yourself
willingly for crucifixion. So the first thing you can expect is not blessing, but
trouble. You will suddenly find your life flooded with conflict and difficulty.
And the purpose for all of this is to bring you to the end of yourself.
What actually happens is that the Lord will lead you into a situation that is going to
predispose you to an attack far greater than you have ever experienced before. For
those who are called to ministry offices such as prophet and apostle, this time of
preparation is extremely intense and can take a long period of time, depending on how
quickly you learn to die. But you see it is not just the death of the cross that
counts. It is the resurrection that follows. The purpose of the time of
training is to show you only the areas that need to be dealt with.
Exposing of Templates
Returning to what we considered earlier about templates, you need to
realize that since
you have formed many templates for sinful behavior during your life, these things will
have to be dealt with before you can move more fully into experiencing the power of God in
your life. But most of the time you don't even know what your sinful templates are.
Most of them were probably formed when you were much younger and unless you are
faced with similar situations in life, they may remain so well hidden that you are not
even aware they are there.
One thing I learned about army training, is that when you are on the battlefield or in
a time of confrontation with the enemy, it is not a good time to discover that you have a
weakness. Now is not the time to go to pieces and panic. You should have been
trained to face this situation before you ever came into contact with your enemy.
And the same is true of our spiritual life. You need to be aware of what inroads the
enemy has in your life before you try to go into the frontlines of spiritual battle for
the Lord.
Many preachers have failed to do this, and when they rise up in success and are lifted
up by it, they suddenly find themselves faced with temptations and pressures that they
cannot handle. And before long the enemy gains the upper hand and God's warrior is
destroyed. It would have been better for him to deal with some of these issues
before ever trying to move into ministry. Unfortunately not many of our Bible
Seminaries are like boot camp. They are just glorified Colleges that fill people's
heads with knowledge and then send them out to do a job they are not properly trained to
do.
But the best training is the one that the Lord gives you. He will show you all
the hidden templates of your heart one at a time. And as each one surfaces, the
chances are you are going to fail gloriously. It works a bit like playing a single
player game such as tennis, squash or racquetball. You might play quite well against
someone who has the same skill as you. But what happens if you are suddenly put to
play with someone who is far better than you? You find that winning is not as easy
as it was before. And now you start to lose the games.
Of course your immediate response is to apply yourself more. You have to play
harder and with greater concentration. It takes a lot of effort, and playing even
stops being fun for a while. But as you continue to pay more attention to your
playing, you start to get better. And gradually you find yourself returning to the
place where you are starting to win more often. This is exactly how it happens in
your spiritual training. You suddenly find yourself faced with greater temptation
than you have known before. People start to oppose you and accuse you and all sorts
of things go wrong in your life.
But as you apply yourself more. As you get into the Word more, and pray more and
learn to submit more, you find yourself more able to handle these things. As the
templates begin to surface, you start to apply the Spirit and the Word to these things and
cause them to be removed and altered. So the Lord trains you to handle any situation
that the enemy could throw at you. And when He has trained you, He will then send you out
to test whether you learned correctly. And now comes the true time of testing.
It is an opportunity for you to excel in what you have learned. It is your
opportunity to qualify and be promoted to a higher office of ministry and responsibility.
Handling the Bully
And here is a picture of how it happens. Imagine a little boy who is being
plagued by a bully down the street. He cannot go past the bully's house without
being attacked and victimized. So he goes running to his Daddy for help. But
instead of going and sorting out the bully, the wise Daddy does something else. He
knows that if his son is trained to handle the bully alone, he will never be bothered by
the bully again. So he teaches his son to fight and dodge the attacks of the bully.
He trains him to handle anything that the bully could throw at him.
And then the day comes when Dad invites his son to go for a walk down the street.
And of course they walk right to where the bully lives. And as they draw near
suddenly the bully comes out to confront the little boy, and as he looks around to see
where his Dad is, he finds that Dad is nowhere to be seen. Dad has purposefully
hidden behind a hedge. And of course the reason Dad has done this is to give his son
a chance to prove the things he taught him.
Now the little boy has two choices open to him. He must stand and fight as he has
been taught, or he can run and escape the problem. But one thing is sure. If
he runs, then he will have to face this situation again another time. So he must
choose to go forward boldly and use what he has been given. And of course if he does
it right, there is no reason why he should not win and defeat this bully. In fact
that is exactly what his Dad expects him to do.
Can you see the picture? The Lord teaches and trains us through His Spirit and
His Word. And then he leads us on purpose right into a situation where Satan comes
out against us. But He knows what we are able to handle. The test is never
something we cannot handle. And of course there is always a way of escape. But
when we go forward and apply what He has taught us and overcome the enemy, then we pass
the test. And when you pass the test, then you qualify for promotion.
Receiving the Crown
Just consider this passage of Scripture in conclusion.
James 1:12 Blessed [is] the man that perseveres under trial:
for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those
that love him.
This is one verse that uses both of the words that we considered above. James
tells us that when we persevere under trial, we come to a place where we pass the test.
And then we are approved by God. And the result of our passing the test is a
promotion. It is the crown of life. What is this crown? Well what is a crown a
picture of? Is it not something that a king wears? Does it not show clearly
that the person who is wearing it has been given authority. Does it not mean that
this person is reigning.
Now consider finally Paul's words in Romans 5:17
For if
by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more those who receive the abundance of
grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Do you want to reign? Then you need to go through the training, and you need to
pass the tests.
