Faith Lesson 17

We did talk last week that God never tempts anybody to sin, right? Except for Wanda. So does God test us? Does he? Does he put us to the test? Why does he do it? Just because he hasn't got much to do on Thursday? Does God test our faith, is maybe a better question. Does he? And why does he do it? Maybe not why. Whether we could stay faithful? Okay. Maybe a better question is, how does he do it? How does he go about testing your faith? With trials and tribulations. Boy, Monique, two right answers in a row. Awesome. And so with trials and tribulation, and when he does that, he's just waiting in the wings to see if you guys will cut it or not, right? No. What's he doing?

Well, I always thought that when you do a test in school, it's to see if you know the information. But I think that's why we get messed up with this word test. But I think that it's to show us what we know or don't know and to help us to learn. We can study the scripture and know a principle. I think we know it. But then something will come into our life that will make us uncomfortable or sad or distressed or whatever. And he shows us how to put that principle to work.

That's what it feels like to me. Okay. That's good. Anybody else? For spiritual growth. Sure. I would think... That was good, wasn't it? Is it ultimately to glorify himself? That's the ultimate purpose. And I guess to me, as we go through the trial, we learn maybe not so much about ourselves, but we learn more about God and his character. Yeah, we have a sense, I think, in our minds that he's testing us so that he can glorify himself. And I'm just a means where he's turning the screws up. That's kind of come to a different meaning to me, for God to glorify himself and his character.

It gives me goosebumps to begin to realize I always thought that, you know, glorifying, you know, why would God just always want to glorify himself? But it's taking on a whole new meaning to me. Sure. Peace verse. I was thinking maybe it's a growth process wherein God calibrates us to his approval. Perfect, okay. I just, we can't hear, ever hear what he says. Can't hear you. So we can realize it? And I don't know if I can paraphrase it. You might have to turn around.

Oh, well, I guess what I have kind of come to realize is that testing and trials are it's to glorify God and his and to show us his character. Sometimes I don't think it's so much to show us where we're lacking. It's kind of to show us his glory and his love and his grace and those things. But I think it's also to rely on him that we really need to rely on him because without him we're nothing. Ultimately to glory, I think what he's told us, it's going to be the renewing of our mind and our conforming to Christ.

That's what he's doing. And then through that, the ultimate purpose is to glorify him. So it's a conforming process. And by faith, trusting in him. So you would say in no sense he's testing us to see how we're doing? He already knows how we're doing. The discussion we've had has been around what he's doing as it relates to us. Isn't there an aspect of testing that is for the purpose for other people? to see God's glory, but it may not be just for us.

Okay, yeah. The purpose is, you know, maybe you're not like me, but every once in a while I get some sort of principle that bangs around in my head for a month or two, and I kind of work through it. And the one that's been going through my head for two months is, I'm not to live unto myself, but unto Him. And I've come to the conclusion that that's a really hard thing to do because I think and look at every circumstance how it affects me first rather than how is this going to glorify God.

And so I understand the question in the sense that God is of such a character that he has called us to be ambassadors of the reconciliation. And we're to do that by the way we live our lives, not by the way we spout off. And so, as God teaches us through his word, principles, truth, and we exercise personal faith in the truth that he reveals to us, then there comes a time, is God really telling me the truth? He's got to work it into us so we become part of what we know. which is his character.

How many Christian lives are there? There's just one. Whose is it? Christ's. That's right. He wants to live his life through you and me. And so in order to do that, he has to We are his agents and we have a will and he wants us to willingly function that way. He doesn't want any robots. You can't live under grace and love robotically. You can't do it. So he goes through the process of teaching us grace and these incredible principles about what he's already done not only for us but to us and he's in a process of conforming us to the image of his son so that his son can live his life through us and who gets the glory for that? He does.

But it's visible to the world and John 17 talks about the fact that we're one with him so that the world might know that the father sent the son. Have you ever thought about that? How does the world know that God sent his son? How do they know? Through the Bible. No, what if they can't read? How do they know? Because John 17 says, Father, that they may be one, as we are one, and they may be one in us, so that the world might know that you sent me. How does that play out in practical footsteps, in the shoe leather?

As you're conformed to the image of Christ and his life is being lived out through you, guess who they see? Him. And it proves to them that Christ not only was here, but is still here. Because he's in each one of us. People see that, too. They really see that, I think. Yeah, they do see it. Over the long haul, you know. They usually don't like it, but they see it. Yeah.

I was listening to Voice of the Martyrs this weekend, testimonies of people who are working with Muslims and different Eastern and Eastern religions. And they were talking a lot about Muslims that are coming into the country or people that are going there that that are just loving them and serving them and helping them and they go, and mostly this was a woman that was talking, she was talking about working with Muslim women, she said, and they kind of go, doesn't teach us to do this, and then they want to know Jesus, because these people are also talking to him about Jesus. There's the connection between the friendliness and the love and the acceptance of those people and the fact that they're Christians. And so that's kind of what you're talking about, where it's just kind of... Yes and no. No? No. God so loved the world that he gave his only son, and what did the world do to him? They crucify them. Right, but they're telling them the gospel.

This is an open door to the gospel. They want to look at your Jesus because they see something. That's an open door. That's what I'm talking about. I think those people speculate. Which people? Those that think that they're going to put the warm fuzzies on all these Muslims and the Muslims are going to say, I'm so impressed.

That's not what I'm talking about. No, that's not what I'm talking about. What are you talking about? to have boots on the ground and they are trying to win these people to the Lord and they're giving them a gospel. I don't understand. I'm sure there's other that going on too, but they're winning these people to Christ actually. They're not just doing all fuzzy. It's giving them the door.

I don't agree with you. We'll just leave it at that. You're the first one in this class that didn't agree. You know, I think one of the other things which was a demonstration, I think that really spoke to a lot of people, was when that shooting in Charleston or whatever it was, that they weren't mad, they were forgiving the guy. And that, I think, spoke volumes to me. But I just remember seeing newscasts and they could not figure that out. They couldn't understand it.

It was totally foreign to But you know, I'll say, I think it's 2 Corinthians 1.3.

Blessed be the God of our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies, God of all comfort, who comforts us in all affliction, so that we'll be able to comfort those who are in affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Again, a visual demonstration. The reason why it sometimes takes us through They see Christ through us in that situation. He took you through it so you could help somebody. You don't understand at that time why he's doing this to me. But when you get comforted through that, the next person, he's doing it so you can be an ambassador for Christ in that next situation.

I learned this fairly early on in my Christian life, because I worked in a mission down in Blair-Mistreet. And I found out in that process that You have to be called to what God wants you to do. You don't just make up your mind because you've got a warm fuzzy in your heart that you're going to go get involved. And when God calls you, He trains you. He gets you ready so that you're effective with the people there. I learned like street people are on the street because they want to be on the street.

It took a long time to learn that. And they will take advantage of you any way they can. So I never took any money with me. I know that that's true of here, it's true of any kind of ministry. You have to be called to it and you have to be suited out to it. Now there's a jillion ministries around where people get warm fuzzies about it and think that their emotional attitude and their limited understanding of the word will be affected. Now sometimes it is. God does a lot of work in spite of me, in spite of you.

And so, especially when I start hearing, well, we'll just love these guys to death. I mean, when you hear about Muslims who cut people's heads off and use the head for soccer balls, and when they have prostitution camps with girls in them as young as six years old, you can love those guys all you want. They're just going to take your head off. Well, that's the men. I'm talking about the women.

I don't have any trouble if you're called to do that. Like the Frontier School of the Bible, those guys up there, some of those people are called to go to Utah and start churches in small towns. And guess what happens? Mormons are coming to Christ. And they're being prepared. But they were prepared before they went there.

And I think the ones that are successful are the ones that were called to go there. I'm going to take a little issue with the street people, homeless people too, because I've been going down there and I've met some people who are homeless, who are Christians, who believe that they're there at that time to be able to, in that capacity, them spread the word of God.

I met them too, yeah. Yeah, so I mean there are people out there like, really? Yeah. So I don't think they want to be there because they're like, Why is God doing this to me, you know? But it's like, I think it must be because he has a plan for me here. See, that's the thing.

I think if you're called to a ministry, there isn't any doubt about why you're going there or why you're there or what God has got you there for. You're not looking at the Lord saying, well, I don't know what you mean or what I'm You don't show up in Afghanistan wondering if you ought to be there. It's not wondering, but it's not necessarily happy with the situation. It's like, I'm a homeless person.

But it's like, this is what I'm doing. Most of the years ago I gave you a book called What's Going On Downriver. Oh, right. They didn't want to necessarily The one guy didn't want to go, remember that? And he wasn't going to go. But then he went, because God changed his mind.

And then they get up the river with the native people, and they're working two and three years before the ministry even begins to have any fruit at all. So it's not like they're like, yay, we're missionaries in Africa. We're missionaries in Amsterdam. Well, and the people had to come to him and say, we've waited long enough for you to give us the message. They didn't even know what the message was.

The point is, in the middle of all of these kinds of enterprises, if the Spirit of God isn't in the middle of it, it's just a fleshly enterprise, I think. But the witnessing to the world was when the TV reporters showed up. They couldn't make sense of what they were doing. Interesting. Do you think that guy would like witness to the world or more to us as believers? Because we kind of understood what was happening with them. Do you think the world figured it out? No, it's foolishness. Are you talking about that same book? No, we're talking about Charleston. Oh, Charleston.

And like this guy from Oregon this week, he specifically asked the people before he shot him if they were Christians. And if they were, bang, they got it in the head. And then that one guy charged him. How many times did he shoot that guy? Seven times. And he still survived. He broke both his legs. And then that one man said, don't kill me, it's my son's birthday. That's the one that got shot in the leg.

Yeah. So, you know, I think I can think the thing is absolute. It's not absolute. You know, most people think that can be used. I think you said it. It's really if. You can see a lot of times in the ministry where it's like, eyes, eye, eye, eye. Yeah, when I see that I get nervous. I feel, I did, you know, that's kind of the flag. Look what God's doing through me. Yeah. So I think probably what's going on is more the absolutes. Homeless people, they're all sorts.

God can be used in any situation, any place, any time, anywhere. The key is the Holy Spirit working in those situations. And I think you know the difference, but again, you know how you know the difference? The Lord puts you through the process so that you do know the difference.

And I'm probably overly skeptical about street ministries. We had a guy that was a fill-in pastor here years ago from Chicago. His whole ministry was to Muslims in Chicago. As far as I know, he never really affected one person. And he was at it for 30 years. But you never know. You don't know.

But I think some people come up with, oh, here's the mission I want to do. And you wonder if the Lord's in the middle of it or not. And I'm a skeptic about that. Right. Then if you're a skeptic, it's all of them are. None of them would be. Yeah, I agree. I think just being a Christian is already your mission. That's true. That's true. No, I absolutely agree with that.

What did she say? She said being a Christian itself is a mission. And I tell you what, when I was, I guess I was an atheist, when I would see Christians who I knew were doing it for themselves, boy, that turned me off worse than anything. You know? And I was happy to see him fall. Alright, let's get back on track. So, why does God allow trials and sufferings then in our lives? What's the purpose? Remember the two words we talked about that translated trials and sufferings or temptation? Parazzo? Indocumazzo? Have you got them clear in your mind? What's perazzo? Perazzo, when used in the negative sense, it means to tempt to failure.

And that's what God never does with us. Never. But you're still in nature. Documazzo. D-A-K-E-M-A-D-Z-O. Approval. D-A-K-E-M-A-D-Z-O. It means to test with a view towards approval. So what we are talking about today is Dakimatsu. God putting us through trials with a view to approve us, to have us so that we are conditionally conformed to what we already are positionally, the way I look at it.

So if, an easy example, you read in Romans 6 that your old man was crucified with Christ, or Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ, but every day you wake up and you think, Well I know it says that but my life and my experience would never prove out that I have been crucified, buried and resurrected with Christ if I'm being honest. So the Lord comes along with a trial to prove to you that what he told you is true and that you'll trust him and rest in him.

And I think that we talk about faith and reckoning. I think at the end of the trial you reckon. At the beginning of the trial you have faith. You reckon because you know absolutely that it's true. Sometimes you exercise faith only because God said so. That's your whole frame of reference. He told me this in the word so I believe him. But I wouldn't reckon on it because I'm not really that sure.

That's what a trial does. It makes you sure. It settles you down. It anchors you in and becomes part of what God has said is true of you. And that's a process. And the best tool God has, the number one tool he has, is need. Sometimes they just come out of the blue, sometimes you cause them, sometimes the environment you're in, it happens. Sometimes the IRS calls.

So, when we're talking about this kind of thing, which one of these four aspects of faith are we involved with here? Why is he doing this kind of thing? Is he doing it on this one? Which one of these, when the trials come into your life, the need is created, God works you through it, and which one of these is he after? The first one is to declare His glory, the second one is to reveal His glory, the third one is to share His glory, and the fourth one is to be glorified.

Which one do you think it is? You get a choice. You can only be 25% right. Which one is it? Four. Who said four? Me. You're wrong. He says one. It's three. You told us in question number four. I just want to know who's reading this question. It's right there. He's sharing his glory with us.

How does that process happen? Think about this now. Here comes this circumstance and trial in my life. And at first I think, oh my goodness, what am I going to do? How am I going to deal with this? Or maybe it's even something I can take advantage of for my own self-aggrandizement. But here comes the Lord with an issue, whatever it is.

He's faint in church. I don't know, you name it. Call 9-1-1 again. I've got to check and see if the scene is safe. Say that again. Did you check your P.R. recently? I've got to check and see if the scene is safe. Number one, number two. Speaking of which, remind me afterwards and ask Vern if he wrote that letter. Okay.

So how is he going to, take me from a trial, Take me from a trial to sharing this glory. What's that road like? Bumpy. Bumpy. Good answer. Would you say that it's When we go through a trial, that God is teaching us something that we don't know about the character, and that when we realize that and see that about his character, that that would be sharing not only his character, but about what he says about me.

When he says, probably the critical issue, at least has been, is that I have been crucified, buried, and resurrected with him. So that's incredible information when you think about it. Either it's total insanity, because I wasn't there 2000 years ago, but he says I was. And I was buried when he was buried and I rose now to newness of life. Well those are a bunch of nice words and I took God at his word because I didn't want to not take him at his word. So he starts this process where he's going to cement that information into you and me so that I do understand and am persuaded and reckon that I'm resurrected now. I already am. How does that give God glory? Or how does that share his glory with us? Because we see it, personally see it, from our own circumstances and understanding. See it, take the next step.

If you see it, what do you do with it? Live it. You believe it. So we've already believed it. Now we've been put through the process. And at the end of the process, or towards the end of the process, now what's my attitude? You walk in it. I'm walking in it. Yeah. And you give God the glory. I don't have to do anything. He's sharing His glory with me. Yeah. Do you see what I'm saying?

You're fully informed. You're a spiritually intelligent believer about it. You're not arrogant, but you understand what's happening and what's happened. And the life of the Lord Jesus is being lived out through you. He's sharing his glory with you. And what are you doing? You're resting. And you're not grabbing for glory yourself. You're just letting him do it. You're resting by faith.

Without that trial, without that documento, you would steal his glory. Wouldn't you? Certainly would. You'd try. Would you be stealing it or would you think you're stealing it? Yeah, that's probably a better way, better put. Yeah, or you would try to steal it. Yeah, and you would try to take credit.

Isn't this 2 Corinthians 3.18? What's that?

Isn't this all 2 Corinthians 3.18?

Yeah, although you know what's interesting about 2 Corinthians 3.18?

For those of you who don't know what it is, 2 Corinthians 3.18 is beholding as in a mirror with unveiled face the glory of the Lord, being changed from one state of glory to another state of glory, even as by the Spirit of God. I think the trial and this process gets me ready for that. The trial itself doesn't do the conforming, it's the beholding.

Because in the end of the day, what do I really want to do through one of these trials? I just want to behold him. I just want to hang with him. I just want to know him more. And that conforms me. Because one of the other things about other benefits of going through a trial is it allows the dropping off of something that's been in the way. something about my personality or my temperament or my, like Donna and I talk a lot about, we both have this thing about righteousness. Boy, you better be straight. Don't you be dancing with me, kind of thing.

And as he begins to, things drop off, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes more valuable to you than yourself and you begin to behold the glory, you're transformed and here comes the glory. You're transformed, you're conformed conditionally into what you already are positionally. So the trial, it seems like to me, the trial causes you to see your need to depend on him, so then you turn to him, which is beholding him, right? And for me it's an issue of, I feel the struggle, I'm going to do it, no I'm going to not do it, I'm going to hang on to it, and then you have to let go of it, and then he just takes it up, and does the conforming work, like you shouldn't be thinking about it, let's move a step ahead of that, what's beholding? What's that about? How do you behold the glory of the Lord? In the word, with unveiled face. How do you do that? You see it. Behold is a pretty strong word. That's the best way I can describe that word is like this story about my younger brother.

When we were all six, seven, eight, nine years old, on Sunday afternoon, my folks would take us, all seven of us, to the movie theater. drop us off, and I don't know what they were doing, but we were all at the movie. And so we'd be at a Roy Rogers movie. Everybody know who Roy Rogers is? White hats, black hats, right? And the guy with the black hat would be sneaking up on the guy with the white hat. And right before he'd bop him one, my brother would yell out in the theater, watch out!

Was he engaged? Yes, of course. Are you engaged with the Lord Jesus? Yes. That's what Beholden is. That you are in it so much that the Lord Jesus is the one that you are transfixed by, you have transported yourself into him. And the Spirit of God is the one who does that. See? That he takes over your thought process. You know, I think it's like, for me it's like, I wouldn't know what to do without God. I am so grateful that without God I would be just a nothing. The need is there, and it's so great. It takes me over, really.

I also think that what happens in this process is, what person of the Godhead is knowable by us? The Lord Jesus, right? He's the one that you get connected with, because you can't know God without Him. You can't know Him, because they're spirits. But the Lord Jesus is a man, and so this beholding of the glory of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who you behold, because he's a human being.

It's really cool, this process that you're put through by the Spirit. Even though if you're like me, you're a slug and you're kicking and digging your heels in all the way, you can't stop him. And it seems like it's to get us back to where we were before Adam and Eve made the decision of, you know, becoming gods themselves, like the separation, like before the separation of just being able to have peace and rest and God's like, you know what you can do? You can name the animals, you know what you can do? You know, enjoy the garden and get back to that because that's what I want. That's my will. That's my love. This is what I want for you as humans to enjoy my glory.

Right? No, that's all good. Courtney gets to jump in. It's not to get back to that spot. It's better. Oh, for better. Yeah. Walking with him, it wasn't good enough. He needed a partner. Yeah. How are you spending time? That was the whole thing. Now, we are in him the same. And that's a much better position than going back to the garden before sin. Before we all messed up. Because that was, you know, on two different levels. Now, we are in him. And that's a much better role. Okay, I'm with you on that. Well, and we were innocent. But it's a better now we are in him. We are the same creation. And that's a whole different thing. It's not that we want to go back. But just remember innocence wasn't so good. Innocence didn't work out so well. Innocence was really not good and not appreciated.

I just looked up beholder and something I'd never seen a definition of it was to keep hold of or to belong to. I've never even associated those two. What was the definition again? It was to keep hold of and to belong to. Yeah. I didn't even associate. Yeah. Even better.

What's interesting about about Christians and Bible study and church and all this stuff we read. are really academic about it. We have a seminary mentality that if we accumulate enough information about Christ and the word and stuff, we're somehow going to be spiritual.

Yet 2 Corinthians 3.18 doesn't talk about intellectual apprehension of facts, does it? Now what was that scripture?

2 Corinthians 3.18. It talks about beholding the Lord Jesus through his word.

So why do you open up your Bible and look at it? Why do you even go in there? Well, if you go in there thinking that I'm going to get smarter, I'm going to be able to regurgitate Biblical truth, or I'm going to be able to pass the test, or I'm going to look good amongst my peers, that's not the right motivation. The right motivation is to behold the glory of the Lord. That's why you're there.

Isn't it cool that he set it up that way? Miles Stanford years ago said a really important thing. He said, faith goes from objective fact to love and affection with a person. Objective fact to love and affection with a person. The beholding perpetuates the love and affection for a person, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And it's always blown my jets that God would even do such a thing.

As I look around the room, none of you deserve it. I was looking in the mirror too. Who are you people? Well, you're one of them. But I heard something again that you're supposed to reach a point where you are actually aware that God Christ is in you. I mean, all day long. I mean, I, you know, I remember every once in a while, but I mean, Can you really get to a point? You remind me of another guy that I met down in the mission, right?

He had a little deal called coffee and counsel. He and his wife. And we had a Bible study. We used to have a Bible study with just people in the area that were involved in ministry every week. This guy came in one week. He said, you know, I've been reading in the Bible where I'm to pray without ceasing.

And I'm up to 55% of the time. That's what I mean by a guy who's a fake. Fifty-five percent of the time, and I said, well, boy, if you get to sixty-five, what happens? Here's the thing, you're involved by the Spirit of God, right? What's his job? He's to reveal Christ to you. That's his job. So just trust him to do it. In John 15, that's what he told us. He said, I'm going to send a comforter, and here's what he's going to do. Oh, okay, I'll trust you. We are to live by faith. We just trust him. What a relief. I know. The Christian life is him living his life through us, not you imitating it. It's really hard.

Because we think imitation. We think intellectual imitation. We think that, boy, if I'm smart, If I'm this, that, and the other thing, then I'm really going to be... But notice how many times I said, I. When Christ is the center of your life, He's the center. He's the center. Let's go to Romans chapter 5, verse 1 and 2. Are you there? Yeah.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, permanently stand, and we exalt in the hope of the glory of God. So I love this question, what's the therefore therefore? What does therefore tell you when you're reading the word? Let's go back and see what has led up to this information that he's about to lay on us.

So if you go back to Romans chapter 1 through 3, first part of 3, it talks strictly about man without faith in Christ and his work declared unrighteous. And then the second half of 3 and then to 4, it's man with faith in Christ and his work declared righteous.

So many believers are really ignorant of just these first five chapters of Romans. It's amazing. It will answer all the questions about humanity and who they are. He classifies every human being into one of three classes in chapters one, two, and the first part of three.

The first part is just human beings that are just anybody, just a natural man. and why he's condemned by God, because he won't honor God as God, and he's not thankful, and he's without excuse because God has revealed himself to this guy in nature and in his conscience. The second guy that's mentioned, the second group of people, are those who have their own code of ethics, their own self-righteousness, their own rules.

And they think by keeping those rules that they can be righteous before God. And so God just says to them, well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to judge you based on your rules and see how far you get. And you find out that you don't get anywhere. And the third group are the really religious guys. And guess who he picks for those? The Jews. and those under the Mosaic Law. And so what he concludes in the middle of three is that not a single human being, not a single one is righteous. Not one. None have come to the glory of God. None have sought after Him. None are righteous. All have fallen short of the glory of God. So depending on what category you fall in, you're one of those three unrighteous lost people.

And in our society, the churches are full of them, that they have their rules and regulations. I'm coming down this morning, and I usually turn the radio off, but I had to go home and get my briefcase, as you know. And I'm listening to this deal, and somebody says, there's a whole thing that started up this week in the Vatican with the Catholics, and there's a bunch of Catholic priests that have come out as homosexuals, and they want the church to change their mind. And I'm thinking, okay, whose rules are they living by? Their own.

So therefore leads to the point is being justified by faith. And we'll start there next week. The being justified by faith is the fact that you are. You're not justified by any other means other than faith in the person and work of Christ. That was the second bell, right? Yes. Thank you, Father, for your grace and we thank you for how careful you are to teach us not only the truth but to reveal to us your precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you. We pray in his name. Amen.