Pastor Kyle continues that God’s tests are for us, not for Him. God is not trying to fail His people. He does not put us into unbearable situation in order to do us in; that’s not how our heavenly Father works. There is a gospel revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator. We are His people who He saved from sin and eternal damnation by sending His Son Jesus to die on the Cross in our place for redemption. No sinful human being will ever be able to prove themselves worth of God; that is the point of the Gospel. What is the point of God’s testing? Exodus 20:20 sums it up: And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” God test His people for our benefit, not for His own. By experiencing these “pass or fail” life tests of God, we learn that obeying God is what is truly best for us. God’s tests help us.
Every new situation that we face is a new opportunity for us to learn how to obey God. The problem is not that we fail God’s test because we learn for failures and correct ourselves, but the real problem comes if we fail to turn our failures around and correct them. God doesn’t want us repeating a sin-cycle history over and over again. When we fail there are real life consequences, but what ultimately makes or breaks it is whether or not learn from the tests, repent and make the corrections or keep repeating the sins. Let me clarify that God allows every Believer to be tested, but God never tempts Believers into sin.
James 1:13-14 says, Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Tempting is when someone lures someone else into sin. Satan does that, the God-rejecting world does that, and the own sinful flesh desires does that; God does not do that. We must be clear that God’s tests are an opportunity for us to display faith. God tests us by giving us opportunities to trust in Him in difficult situations.
How do we get through the hot, miserable desert wildernesses of life? The first thing that the Christian needs is the dynamic duo of the Holy Spirit and the support of fellow Believers. There are some situations that are so tough that all we can do is hold on to Jesus and the people around us to get through while it pours down outside. Jesus is with us during the storms of life. When it comes to sin issues, this is even more true. We cannot pull ourselves out of the pit of our own sins. The point of the gospel is that sin separated us from God and Christ had to come and fill that gap between us and God by redemption and reconciliation through His atoning death on the Cross, His resurrection from the dead (defeating sin and death) and assentation to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
Jesus came and lived the sinless life that we were meant to live, then sent the Holy Spirit so that we could finally have the strength to do what God wanted us to do in the first place. God’s Spirit will help us as we honestly and authentically reach out for the support we need. But, sitting in a hole and try to solve your own sin problem is not God’s singular design; you have loving brothers and sister in the family of God to support you. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
It is important that we find the support that we need and proactively reach out to get it. Don’t wait and don’t expect others to recognize your struggle. You have to communicate the support that you need and find brothers and sisters in Christ that are in a place in their own lives where they are able to offer that support to you. For Galatians 6:2 tells the child of God, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” It is ministry to minister to people’s struggles. But, those struggling have to commit to be honest and vulnerable with the people trying to help you. It’s one thing to be aware of our struggles, but another thing to get the support and help that you need to get through. As we grow and mature in faith, we learn more about our just and holy God and His sacred Bible, the living Word of God and God’s perfect divine standards and righteous commandments, then realize how we measure up or not. So, it is important to stay plugged into the indwelling Holy Spirit and the support of fellow Believers.
Let's conclude Pastor Kyle's message on the provision of God in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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