Testing from the Lord

Introduction
• What is our usual reaction to testing?
• Fear
• Surprise
• Bitterness/Tampo
• Sadness/Depression/Grief
• Anger
 Purposes of Testing
• 1. for God to purify or refine us (to make
us more pure, remove the impurities)

• Prov 17:3 The crucible for silver and the

furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the
heart.
 Refining: melting gold with a hot
flame; impurities are drawn to the
surface (dross)
The hottest part of the flame is
placed on the gold to melt it
Liquid gold poured into a mold
• The melting point of gold is 1064 degrees
centigrade
• The melting point of silver is 961 degrees
centigrade
• The hottest portion of the flame (junction of blue
and white flame) has to be placed on the metal
to reach its melting point
• Sometimes in our trials we feel like we are
melting in the heat. God is removing the dross in
our lives to make us pure.
• Let God test you.
• Psalm 139:23-24
• “Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
• See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
• Let the Lord refine you so you may be
pure before Him.
 Purposes of Testing
• 2. The Lord proves that you have the real
thing, real faith in the Lord inside of you.
• 1 Pet 1:3-7
• Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who
through faith are shielded by God's power until the
coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in
the last time.
• In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while
you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
• These (trials) have come so that your faith-- of greater
worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise,
glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
 Purposes of Testing
• 3. so God can see if we love Him with all
our heart
• Deut 13:1-4
• 1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams,
appears among you and announces to you a miraculous
sign or wonder,
• 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken
takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods"
(gods you have not known) "and let us worship them,"
• 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or
dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out
whether you love him with all your heart and with all your
soul.
• 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him
you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him;
serve him and hold fast to him.
• 4. to produce perseverance , to make us
mature in Christ
• James 1:2-4
• Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds,
• because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance.
• Perseverance must finish its work so that you
may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.
• (NIV)
• Examples of Trials and Testing:
• 1. “Short Quizzes”: short exposures to minor
irritants/temptation
• 2. “Long Exams”: prolonged exposure to minor
irritants, short exposure to major irritants.
Prolonged trials
• 3. “Final Exams”: life-changing events and trials
• 4. “PhD”- prolonged exposure to life-changing
events, several life-changing events in
succession or all at the same time
• The Lord allows testing. (like Job)
• Nothing comes as a surprise to the Lord.
• Satan’s only goal is to make you fall away
from God in whatever way he can. He will
use any form or manner of sin, as long as
it takes your heart away from the Lord.
• The solution: love the Lord with all your
heart, soul and mind, in all the testing and
temptations you will face.
 Let us remember: let God’s word
have deep roots in your heart
• Let His word take root deeply in you. Remove the rocks
in your heart that keep His word from growing into a
fruitful tree.
• Luke 8:13 (Parable of the Sower)
Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word
with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They
believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall
away.
• It is the word of God that will remain, especially in times
of trials. You may forget every illustration, drawing,
picture, video, or story you have been shown but the
word endures forever.
• Isa 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the
word of our God stands forever."
 Let us remember during testing:
the Lord is our Shepherd
• The Lord is our Shepherd in the good and bad
times.
• The Lord is our Shepherd in the quiet waters
and the dark valleys.
• In the dark valleys, we cannot see anything but
we can still hear His comforting voice. His sheep
know His voice.
• Listen to God speaking to you in the dark
valleys.
• His goodness and love follow us all the days of
our lives.
 Let us remember during testing:
the Lord is always good
• The Lord is always good.
• Goodness is part of God’s character. His
character does not change even if our
circumstances do.
• Don’t say “God is good” when you have a
blessing. He is ALWAYS good, blessing or
no blessing.In our tragedy or in our
happiness, God is good. Just say “thank
You Lord”.
 Let us remember during testing:
His grace is enough
• 2 Cor 12:7-10
• To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a
thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
• Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from
me.
• 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.
• That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.
• Each trial is an opportunity to trust God
• God’s power is made PERFECT in our
weakness.
• God’s grace is enough for us!
• In every trial, there is an opportunity to learn to
depend on God’s grace , to depend on the Holy
Spirit
• When we have reached our limitations, the Lord
who has no limits shows His power at work in
us.
 Fling Wide (by Misty Edwards)
• Awake, awake o north wind,
• Awake awake o south wind
• Blow over me
• Come o winds of testing
• Come winds of refreshing
• Blow over me
• Awake, awake o north wind,
• Awake awake o south wind
• Blow over me
• Come o winds of testing
• Come winds of refreshing
• Blow over me
• Let the winds blow(15x)
• Fling wide the door to my soul
• Open up the door to my heart
• Have your way, have your way
• Have your way yeah
• I won’t be afraid
• I will face the wind
• I won’t be afraid
• I embrace the flame
• Let the winds blow(15x)
• Fling wide the door to my soul
• Open up the door to my heart
• Have your way, have your way
• Have your way yeah
• Fling wide the door to my soul
• Open up the door to my heart
• Have your way, have your way
• Have your way yeah
• Take me through the fire
• Take me through the rain
• Take me through the testing
• I’ll do anything
• Test me try me prove me refine me
• Like the gold, like the gold
• Fling wide the door to my soul
• Open up the door to my heart
• Have your way, have your way
• Have your way yeah
• Fling wide the door to my soul
• Open up the door to my heart
• Have your way, have your way
• Have your way yeah
• Take me through the fire
• Take me through the rain
• Take me through the testing
• I’ll do anything
• Test me try me prove me refine me
• Like the gold, like the gold