Have you been tested

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC on November 18, 2018

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^NRS Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." ⁴ But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" ⁷ Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹ and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

A Young Lieutenant and CMSGT of the Air Force are deep into a discussion after the young lieutenant has just arrived at his first duty station.  After several days of getting acquainted, the CMSGT asks the young lieutenant, “Who are you?”  Just having finished many weeks of training, testing, and ego building, the Lieutenant replies smugly, why I am second Lieutenant, Joe Air Force.  The CMSGT looks at him with that stern look that 27 years in the service brings and says, “No son, everyone has a name.  I don’t want to know who you say you are, I want to know who you are.”

Would you be able to answer his question?  Often we do not know the answer to that question until we are tested to the limits of what we believe we can endure. Who are you?  That is an important question that each of us needs to ask ourselves each minute of the day.  I was once asked if I had been tested upon responding that I was moving ever deeper into my faith life with a gentleman that had identified himself as a Baptist minister.  The gentleman went on to say, the devil does not test those he already has, but severely tests those he most stands to lose.”

And so it goes, for shortly after, I began to be tested, and tested, and tested.  For you see, like the young lieutenant, I was full of arrogance and self-importance.

My world was built around the word, I.  You know it,

• I don’t need advice, I am smart enough to understand
• I don’t need help, I am strong enough to know what I should do
• I don’t need counsel, I am intelligent enough to know what to the answer is,

Pause

And the trumpets blew, and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down as thousands of dollars, my hopes and dreams, slipped into the shifting sand of deceit and fraud and ego.

So what is testing and temptation? Are they the same or different? And if they are different, what measure do we use to tell them apart? Have you ever read the story of Job? Job is a faithful servant of God whom God pushes up to Satan as an example of a great child of God. Satan suggests that God allow Satan to test this relationship by bringing about trials and adversity in Job’s life.

Job perseveres in this story and maintains his faith no matter what Satan throws at him. Abraham is asked to give up the child that God promised by sacrificing him on the altar. Some suggest that Abraham knew that God would not have taken Isaac but I believe that Abraham’s faith was such that if God asked, Abraham would do. Then along comes Jesus who is tempted by Satan three times in the wilderness. I want you to notice a couple of key things about this piece of scripture. First of all, Jesus prepares himself for the testing by fasting and praying and being in relationship with God. We talked about this last week. In this story, Satan tempts Jesus, which is different from being tested by God. Jesus is tempted to go against the will of God. Jesus is tempted to sin. So we have our definition if you will and the distinction between testing and temptation. One is tempted to sin, to be disobedient to God, to go down the path that we should never take. Jesus says that the power-overcome temptation is prayer and faith.  

Henry Blackaby, noted teacher and preacher, suggests that God tests us in order to determine if we are ready to move to the next level in our spiritual journey. In other words, are we ready to commit ourselves to God, completely? Here is a thought for you. You are tested in your strengths, not your weaknesses. The areas in your life where you have comfort and believe in your own abilities are the areas that will be tested. Trust me, it works that way.

So how do I tell the difference? If I am being asked to go against the will of God, if the request requires of me to do something sinful, then I am being tempted. If the events in your life, like that of Job, are stressing your faith in God then more than likely you are being tested. God needs to know what you can and will do when faced with the obstacles of life and the temptations of evil. God asked Abraham to give up a great personal price at least twice. The first when God asked Abraham to go, give up his comfortable life and move to where God wanted him to be. Abraham had great faith and moved. Then God asked him to give up his son. Abraham went to the mountain prepared to do what God was asking.

So what are these tests we speak of and how do you experience them?  Well, we experience life every day and they are more common than you can imagine. They are things like fear, worry, discouragement, anger, doubt and prejudice.

So what does all this mean? It means quite simply that you should be able to identify the source of the testing or temptation and then know how to conquer it. But the best news is that we have help along the way. We cannot presume to believe that we have the power and ability to conquer all of the adversity that will come our way. What we do know is that we have hope in God to assist us in our struggles. For Hebrews tells us in verse 2:18 that, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

So what do we do? First, if we are being tested then we persevere. That means that we obey God no matter what the cost. When God is testing us, it is to prepare us for the next step in our journey. When God speaks, it will create a spiritual crisis in our lives. It did with Abraham, Moses, and David. It did with Paul on the road to Damascus. I can promise you this one thing. That when God is speaking to you in your life that your life is about to change. And I can promise you this, when God is going to change your life greater things than you can imagine will be possible through the power of God.

Your faith is being tested as we ask the church to trust God and go in the direction that God is calling us to go. Not knowing whether that path is going to be easy or a great struggle, not knowing if we will have the resources to do all that God is asking, and fearing that it might be something we don’t really want to do or are uncomfortable doing. God is calling us to be tested and then we can do incredible, amazing things for God. If you are like me, all too often we experience fear at being called to go where we have never been or do what we have never done before. It is easy to stay comfortable in the same routines and natures. If Abraham had not answered God, Israel would not have been a reality. If Moses had not answered the call to Egypt, we would not be here in the way that we are. If David had not felt confidence in God, Israel would have been defeated by Goliath. God is faithful! If God wants it to happen and we are faithful enough to persevere through the test, it will happen.

When we take our stand with God, nothing, not a single thing can prevent you from being who God wants you to be. And rejoice in that testing and rejoice in the ability to withstand sinful ways. In God, there is hope, in Satan there is death. Are you ready to be tested?